


Years in the Life

by Plus3Charisma



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Small Town, Angst, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Slow Burn, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2018-10-30
Packaged: 2019-02-25 21:44:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 79,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13221849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Plus3Charisma/pseuds/Plus3Charisma
Summary: *Inspired by Gilmore Girls*Tony Stark is raising his 16-year old son, Peter in a small town called Stars Hollow. Having run away from home at 16 to raise his son, Tony is forced to go back to his parents and ask for money to send Peter to one of the best schools in the country. Being forced to reconnect with his parents, Tony makes the sacrifice to ensure that his son will have a bright future and be able to go to MIT just like they always wanted.Everyone knows everyone in such a small town and once Peter starts school, it only gets more interesting for everyone involved.*Tags will be added as the story updates.*





	1. Red Heads & Grandparents

**Author's Note:**

> Please enjoy, I started this fic over a year ago, setting up the characters and what roles they'd be filling. It's only been recently that I returned to it excited to make progress and I've made so much progress in a very short amount of time.
> 
> I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I am writing it. I am used to doing character studies with very little dialogue so this is a big change in style for me. Please let me know what you think.

“Please, Steve. Please, just one cup!” Tony begged, holding the giant cup out to Steve across the diner’s counter.

“How many cups have you had today?” Steve asked, not looking to Tony as he continued his work.

“Just one!” Tony pushed the mug out more, hoping for some coffee.

“Plus?” Steve asked, not believing Tony for a second. He was a serial coffee drinker, an addict. He’d come in every day and practically drink the place dry.

“I’m hurt, Steve. Hurt and betrayed. I have only had one cup of coffee today. Thanks to Peter finishing it all. You should’ve seen him, he was like that episode of Futurama where Fry drinks 100 cups of coffee and time actually slows down around him.” Steve let out a long drawn out sigh. Both Tony and his son Peter were in here almost every day and just watching the two of them eat gave Steve stomach issues. Tony seemed to talk a mile a minute, and Steve could hardly keep up with him. The constant obscure references were hard enough to catch, let alone the speed.

“I’ve never seen that show, Tony.”

“Never?”

Shaking his head, Steve poured coffee into the cup Tony was holding out.

“Well if that’s not the most ironic thing I’ve heard all week then I don’t know what is.” Pausing only to take a sip out of his coffee cup, Tony smiled before walking back to sit down at the table for two. “Besides, your coffee is the best in town.”

Before he could say anything else, the diner phone rang. “Stars and Stripes Diner, this is Steve.”

Sitting at the table, Tony sipped his coffee as Peter walked in, dropping his backpack and skateboard onto the ground next to their table.

“Hey, it’s freezing outside.” Taking off his jacket, Peter sat down.

“Good thing you got all that nice hot coffee this morning to keep you warm.” Tony smirked before taking another big sip.

“I said I was sorry. I was up all night reading and needed to stay awake. If I didn’t then my entire sleep schedule would be all over the place until Friday.”

“You hungry? There’s time to eat before school.” Tony asked, he sure as hell couldn’t cook, but that wasn’t a problem when their house was in walking distance of every food place in town.

“Yeah, you think I can get Steve to make me something to bring for lunch too?”

“Isn’t there a rule about eating in class?” Steve walked over to the table, putting down a glass of orange juice for Peter.

“What’s this for?” Peter asked, looking up at Steve with a confused look on his face.

“You shouldn’t be drinking so much coffee at your age. Eat healthier; it’ll do you some good. The both of you.” Steve answered in his usual mother hen voice. He’d taken it upon himself to make sure the both of them ate better. Of course Tony always thought Steve was slightly gloating about how he’d gained the body of an Adonis during his time in the Army. Of course Steve was ever humble, but that didn’t stop Tony from catching the smugness in the man’s tone.

“Absolutely. A growing boy needs milk, orange juice, Molly Ringwald, and the complete Breakfast Club.” Tony joked, holding out his mug to get topped off. 

Not refilling the mug, Steve shook his head before turning to leave before looking to Peter one last time. “Yeah, why do you think your dad stopped growing at 17.”

“Hey! I’ll have you know I am a perfectly average height for the American male. Just because everyone around this town looks like they’re out of one of those overrated superhero movies doesn’t mean that the rest of us normal folks are short.” Tony replied loudly as Steve moved back behind the counter. “In fact, I’m insulted! You’ve just lost two of your most loyal customers!”

“Are you gonna order or just keep making out of date references?” Steve asked, despite Tony’s yelling across the room, Steve had his pen and notepad ready to jot down their food.

“Clark Gable is talking to me about being out of date!” Tony exasperated as he turned to look at Peter.

Putting down his notepad, Steve shook his head before heading back into the kitchen, ignoring Tony.

“Can I have pancakes?” Peter shouted.

“Eggs and bacon?” Tony followed.

Rushing into the diner, Pietro Maximoff ran over to the counter, waiting for Steve to come over and serve him.

“Hey Pietro.” Peter called over.

Turning to look at the two, Pietro walked over to their table, “Hey Peter, Tony.”

“You want to join us for breakfast?” Tony offered.

“No thanks, I’m just here for a donut then I have to run. Wanda should be here soon though.” Pietro answered.

Steve came back from the kitchen, standing behind the counter, “What can I get you, Pietro?”

“A donut and a coffee to go.” Pietro answered, handing over his money.

With his donut and coffee in hand, he turned back to the two sitting at the table with a quick, “See you at school,” before rushing out the door again.

“Does he ever slow down?” Steve asked, the kid gone before he could even close up the register.

“No.” Both Tony and Peter answered.

“Can’t blame him. I’d probably be running away too if Erik was my father.” Tony commented before sipping his coffee, frowning once he realized he was out.

Seeing Steve go back into the kitchen with another customer’s order, Tony stood up. As he made his way around and behind the counter, Wanda, Pietro’s sister, walked in.

“Hey Wanda, you just missed your brother.” Peter explained as Wanda pulled over a chair to sit with them. She watched curiously as Tony poured a cup of coffee for himself.

“Yeah he’s been rushing all morning trying to get to school early. Doesn’t Steve hate it when you do that?” She explained, sipping the untouched orange juice that had been in front of Peter.

“Pietro? Early for school?” Peter asked, watching his dad try not to get caught behind the counter. For all the running and rushing Pietro did, the guy never seemed to be on time to anything.

“What Steve doesn’t know won’t hurt him. Do you want coffee, Wanda?” Tony offered, the pot still in hand.

“No, but I’ll take a donut.” She answered, “Pietro’s been excited about meeting up with this girl at school. Says she’s the love of his life.”

“Tony!” Steve got loud as he walked back out of the kitchen, plates in hand. “How many times do I have to tell you not to come behind the counter!”

“I know, it won’t happen again!” Tony said, putting the donut onto a plate before moving out from behind the counter, his coffee in hand.

“It’ll happen again a week from now and you’ll try to talk your way out of it again.” Steve moved over to their table, placing down their breakfast. 

Sitting back down at the table, Tony smugly drank his fresh coffee, “I promise, I won’t go back behind the counter.”

Ignoring Tony, Steve turned to Wanda, “Can I get you something to eat?”

“No thanks, Steve. I have to get going soon.” She answered as Steve turned to a customer calling him over.

Taking big bites of his breakfast, Peter paused to ask, “Already? You just got here.”

Wanda nodded through the last bite of her donut, “I have to pick up a book I ordered from Bucky before school. I’d go after class, but I have German Club today.”

“Your dad is making you go to German Club again?” Tony asked as he ate his bacon.

“I’m still trying to figure out how to get out of it.” Wanda answered, finishing off the glass of orange juice.

“What about Pietro, he’s going too?” Peter asked, reaching across the table to sneak a sip of his dad’s coffee.

“He hasn’t been to a single meeting,” She sighed.

“Your dad hasn’t caught on yet?” Tony prompted, glaring at Peter but letting him take the mug.

“How could he? Pietro isn’t in one place long enough to interrogate him. Me on the other hand,” Wanda trailed off as she took a bite of the toast from Peter’s plate.

“Bad huh?” Peter asked.

“Like Samuel Jackson interrogating that guy in Pulp Fiction where he quotes the bible.” Wanda continued as she stood up, her bag slung over her shoulder and ready to leave, “That is my life, a gun point interrogation and Ezekiel 25:17.”

“Well at least your life won a Golden Globe.” Tony added, as he finished up his food.

“Hang on, I’ll go with you, I’ve been meaning to stop at the book store this week.” Peter said, standing up and finishing off his Dad’s cup of coffee.

“So you can get yet another thousand page novel to squeeze into your already overflowing bookshelves?” Tony asked, a note of sarcasm in every word.

“Well if you built me another bookcase that wouldn’t be a problem.” Peter explained as he grabbed his skateboard from the floor.

“Don’t worry I won’t let him buy anything.” Wanda explained, pushing Peter towards the door.

“Do you mind bringing these over to Bucky while you’re over there? I’m a little too busy today to bring him his usual breakfast.” Steve asked, a brown paper bag with the diner’s logo on it and a to-go cup of coffee in hand.

“Sure, maybe if I bribe him with food he’ll agree to let me switch out the book sleeves to something that wont make my dad judge me too harshly.” Wanda took the bag and coffee, ready to walk out the door with Peter.

“Just make sure Peter doesn’t drink the coffee in the ten steps over to the book shop.” Tony added, holding out his mug to Steve for a refill.

“Thanks guys, have a good day at school.” Steve placed the check for their meal onto the diner table before heading back into the kitchen and pointedly ignoring Tony’s empty mug.

With both of the kids out the door and on their way to school, Tony left his money on the table before grabbing his things. Noticing that Steve had gone back into the kitchen, Tony went back behind the counter and poured himself a cup of coffee to-go and left before Steve could see.

-

Walking up the pathway to the front of the Independence Inn, Tony finished off the last drop of his coffee, greeting guests as he made his way inside the lobby of the Inn, Tony’s pride and joy. The Inn is a nice old-fashioned hotel with big open lawns, perfect for weddings and other kinds of events.

Stopping at the front desk, Tony waved to Phil, the concierge, as he was on the phone.

“Independence Inn, Phil speaking. I’m very sorry Mr. Lee but we are completely booked for that weekend.” Phil explained to the man on the line while his hands were busy sorting through mail, “Yes I’m sure. No there is really nothing I can do. Positive.”

Tony strolled behind the counter, grabbing his mail from the cubbies behind the counter, flipping through to see if there was anything urgent. Phil handed him a letter with a familiar crest on the front, Tony turned it around to read his name scrawled in tight neat cursive.

“No, sir I don’t have to look,” Tony turned to see Phil, his always cool demeanor not cracking under the annoyance of a persistent guest, “Of course I’ll look.”

Placing the phone down onto the counter, Phil continued sorting silently before picking the phone up again, “I’m sorry we’re completely booked.”

Slicing open the letter, Tony unfolded it and started reading, his eyes widening. Taking the letter with him, he went towards the door behind the counter and went towards his office. Before the door shut behind him, he could still hear Phil arguing with the guest on the phone.

“Sir, you have no idea how desperately I’d like to help, but I’d have to build a room for you myself and I’m not a man who works with his hands. So the best I can do is suggest that you choose any other weekend.” Waiting by the door, Tony wanted to hear how this ended, “Ah, the 16th. Hold on, I’ll look. No I’m sorry, we’re completely booked.”

Looking at the phone in his hand for a second before returning it to the dock, Tony assumed the guest hung up, leaving Phil hanging. Shaking his head, Tony head for the phone in his office.

-

Walking into the small bookshop, Wanda and Peter started looking around, no sign of Bucky or his three-legged cat named Soldier. Both Steve and Bucky had grown up in this town, their parents ran their own businesses in town, staples of the community. When both young men returned from their time in the U.S. Army a few years ago, bringing a new military buddy with them, they each took over the family businesses, and their friend Sam opened up an ice cream parlor.

Of course, all three businesses were patriotic to high hell and Peter couldn’t get Tony to stop making MASH references for at least a year.

“Any ideas on what you’re going to do to get out of German club?” Peter wasn’t exactly one for after school activities, and Wanda certainly wasn’t thrilled about most of the strict rules her dad set for her.

“I don’t know, I’m still working on it. I was thinking of telling him that it’s on the same days as Academic League.” Wanda rang the small bell on the counter, jumping a little when Soldier hopped up onto the counter right in front of her.

Setting down the food and coffee on the counter, Wanda started petting the needy cat as she saw Peter start to look through Bucky’s selection of weekly picks.

“But you’re not in Academic League, why not just say you’re going to German club and not go,” Peter asked, picking up a copy of something by Marcel Proust.

“Yeah I guess you’re right. Maybe I’ll say I’m worried about it taking time away from bible study? That should pull the heart strings right?” Wanda knew her father well enough to know that if she said she wanted to focus more on her religious study then he’d be putty in her hands.

“Might need a heart string to pull on first.” Both teens looked up to see Bucky coming out of the back room, his long hair in his usual bun style. When Bucky first returned to town after a while in the military, the townfolk were shocked at the drastic difference from the punk kid with a big mouth, and the blunt but kindhearted, and even gruff looking young man he’d turned into.

“Yeah, you might be right. If there’s one thing my dad cares about more than our religion it’s our heritage,” Wanda sighed, “I’ll figure it out, but we brought you some breakfast from the diner. Steve said he was busy this morning.”

“Thanks kids,” Bucky said before taking a sip of his coffee, “And Wanda, I have you’re book.” Reaching under the counter, Bucky pulled out a crisp, clean copy of ‘Taking Punk to the Masses,’ “Just don’t let your dad know you got it from me.”

“Please, if my dad sees this I’ll end up tarred and feathered in the town square as a warning for sinners threatening our wholesome ways.” Wanda stuffs the book into her backpack.

“Or he’d end up kicking open the door to my house and dousing my dad in holy water saying it’s our fault you’ve strayed from the righteous path.” Putting his book down onto the counter, Peter reached into his pocket to grab his wallet.

“You’re seriously buying another book? You’re dad will kill me.” Wanda warned, eyeing the lengthy novel.

“He’ll live, besides, I just finished one last night so I have to refill my ‘To Be Read’ pile.” Peter handed Bucky the 20.

“Gotta say kid, you’re my best customer,” Bucky handed Peter his change as the boy put his book in his backpack, “If you’re ever looking for a job just let me know.”

“Thanks Bucky but the last thing I need is to be around books more than I already am.” Peter joked as he grabbed his skateboard, ready to head to school.

“Yeah, it’s kind of like how you don’t let an alcoholic into a bar,” Wanda added, giving her final pets to the friendly cat that had been devouring her attention since she walked in.

“See you later, Bucky.” Peter waved as the two teens walked out.

“Have a good day at school kids.” Petting the cat, Bucky smiled before putting on his reading glasses and returning to his ledger.

-

Rushing into the bustling kitchen of the Inn with a paper shopping bag in his hands, Tony called out for the chef, “Clint!”

“Can’t stop, Tony, we got the early bird dinner rush coming gotta prep.” Clint, the masterful chef was on high speed, slicing this and dicing that.

“This is more important, it’s here, it happened, he did it!” Tony goes on, a giant grin on his face and he’s practically bouncing on the balls of his feet.

“I’m gonna need more than that Tony.” Wiping his hands on his apron, Clint turns to focus on Tony as he comes closer with the letter in hand.

“The Chilton School, Peter got in!” Holding up the letter, Tony shows Clint it’s fancy crest and the official signature of the headmistress, “Look. ‘Dear, Mr. Stark we are pleased to inform you that we have a vacancy at Chilton Preparatory starting immediately. Due to your sons excellent credentials and your enthusiastic pursuit of his enrollment’ I offered to do the principal to get him in. ‘We’ll be happy to accept him once the first semester’s tuition has been received.”

“Tony this is incredible!” Clint claps Tony hard on the back in a bro half-hug.

“I know, this is it! He can finally got to MIT and get the education I couldn’t and do all the things that I never got to do and I can resent him for it. It’ll be amazing!”

Clint threw his head back in laughter at how excitable Tony is, “I look forward to the bittersweet graduation speech.”

Both men quickly went silent as Peter walked in through the back door of the kitchen, grabbing one of Clint’s homemade cookies on the way in. Looking between the quiet pair, Peter saw their weird grins.

“You two seem happy.” Leaning against the counter, Peter finished his snack, popping the rest of the cookie into his mouth.

“Here, open this,” Tony handed Peter the shopping bag in his hand as his son looked confusedly between the two men.

Pulling out a navy blue blazer, Peter jokingly asked, “We’re going to the horse track?”

Before Tony could say anything Clint blurted out, “You’re going to Chilton!”

Tony smacked Clint on the arm for ruining his moment.

“Dad?” Peter asked, turning to his dad for confirmation.

“You did it, kiddo. You got in.” Holding up the letter, Tony smiled even wider.

“How did this happen? You didn’t…with the principal did you?” Peter looked hesitantly at his dad, clutching the blazer in his hand.

“No, Peter, that was a joke,” Tony snickered, “They have an open spot and you’re gonna start on Monday.”

“Oh my god, I’m going to Chilton!” Stuffing the blazer back into the back, Peter leaned in to hug his dad, then turned when Clint gave him a strong clap on the back.

“Good work, little man.” Clint smiled before he smelled something burning, “Mac what did I tell you about that fish!”

As Clint turned to deal with his kitchen staff, Peter said, “I have to go call Wanda.”

“Go, go. I’ll be home in an hour. And try on your uniform!” Tony called out after Peter started running out the door.

Making sure he had the letter from the school in hand, Tony went to stuff it back into the envelope when he saw another paper in there. Heading back towards his office, Tony unfolded the paper before nearly having a panic attack. Picking up the phone, Tony started dialing the number at the top for the school’s bursar.

After being on hold for almost 20 minutes, Tony finally got through to someone, “Hi, I’m on hold for Mr. Charleston, I’ve been trying to get ahold of him all day.”

Waiting another second, Tony had gotten through, “Hi, yeah, uh, my son Peter has just been accepted. Thank you, and I got the invoice for your enrollment fee. Wow, that is a lot of zeros behind that five.”

Sitting down into his desk chair, Tony grabbed some aspirin, feeling a headache coming on as the man on the other end spoke, “Uh-huh. Okay, well, what I’m wondering is if you couldn’t take, say, part of it now, just to get him started.

“He’s supposed to start Monday, it just doesn’t give me a lot of time to pull a bank job,” Tony half chuckled at his own joke, “Well, nevermind, I was just kidding…no, a bank job is robbing a bank but…Uh-huh. Oh no.”

Standing back up, Tony started to pace, mad at himself for not having something to do with his hands right now, “No, no, I don’t want you to give up his space. I’ll just, I’ll have to figure it out. Okay. No, thank you. It’s been a real treat talking to you.”

Slamming the phone down on the receiver, Tony pinched the bridge of his nose before grabbing his keys and heading out. Saying a quick goodbye to Phil on his way out, Tony began his short walk home.

Passing by the town dance studio, converted from an old barn and still used weekly to house the town meetings, Tony waved at Natasha, the resident Russian ballerina. 

“Congratulations, I hear Peter is going to Chilton.” The red head smiled, leaning against the open barn door.

“How could you possibly have heard that, I only told him a little while ago.” Tony should know better than to ask by now. It was a small town he’d lived in for 16 years now, he knew everyone. But Natasha, she knew everyone and all their secrets and gossip and wasn’t afraid to tell them that she knew.

“A little birdy told me.” Sometimes Tony wanted to smack that smirk off her face, but he knew she could probably beat him in a fight. He’d seen plenty of times what her thighs were capable of.

“Clint then, lovely. And thank you, I’ll pass on your congratulations to Peter.” Tony waved and continued on his way home, using his cellphone to order a pizza on his way.

-

Later that night, Clint and Tony were outside on the wrap-around porch of Tony’s house, each one drinking a beer as they spoke.

“What the hell am I going to do?” Tony repeated for the millionth time that night as he paced back and forth.

“You can have anything I own. My car, sell my car.” Clint suggested as he sat up from the bench to stand next to Tony.

“Clint no one wants your car.” Tony had been the one to fix Clint’s car countless times. If it wasn’t for him, Clint may as well be barreling down the street in a deathtrap that’s more duct tape than car.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Clint sighed before taking another sip of his beer, leaning against the porch railing.

“There’s something that I just haven’t thought of. It’s staring me right in the face I just haven’t seen.” Tony made sure to keep his voice down so Peter wouldn’t hear from inside while Jan, the town interior designer and tailor was fitting him for the new uniform. 

“You know, you might consider calling your par-“ Clint suggested before Tony cut him off.

“No.”

“But I don’t think you have-“ Clint tried again, more insistent this time.

“Stop.”

“You can at least go and-“

“Uh.” Tony held up his hand, trying to get Clint to stop.

“Okay, can I say something?” Pausing to see if Tony would object, Clint continued, “I think it might be your only option.”

“Clint, there are several chapters of a Stephen King novel I’d reenact before I resorted to that option.” Tony took another sip of his beer.

“Fine, I’ll drop it.” Before either man could say anything else, Peter called them from inside.

Grabbing their beer before walking into the living room, they could see Peter standing on top of a small stool as Jan finished putting in her final pins into the blazer and pants of Peter’s uniform so she’d be ready to make the alterations by next Monday.

“What do you guys think?” Peter asked, a big grin on his face.

“It makes you look smart.” Clint suggested, flopping down onto the couch, propping his feet up on the coffee table next to Jan’s open sewing box of supplies.  
“Dad?” Peter turned to Tony, making sure not to get in Jan’s way while he moved.

“Like you’re ready for high tea.” Tony grinned.

Jan stopped making her last adjustments, “Alright, you’re all done Peter. It looks great on you!” Jan clapped, her usual smiling and bubbly self, “You can take it off now.”  
“Thanks Jan!” Carefully Peter stepped down from the stool and made his way to his room, attached to the small kitchen just off the living room.

“Thanks Jan, I appreciate it.” Tony said, as the woman packed up her supplies.

“Oh no problem Tony, I’m always happy to help. Besides, I just finished working on my last wedding dress for a little while. ‘Busy Bees’ isn’t going to be so busy until around Christmas time.” Referring to her shop ‘Busy Bees Tailor & Decorating’ Jan usually had a small break before people brought her dresses for spring and summer weddings as well as prom.

“Would you like to stay and have some pizza?” Tony offered as he gestured to the 3 boxes on the coffee table, as usual they ordered too much food and kept the left overs to last them through the rest of the week. Of course between Clint, Tony, and Peter they’d at least get through a pie and a half of sausage and green peppers, leaving the third pie of pepperoni for the weekend.

“Nah, I better get going, Hank will be expecting me home soon.” Jan picked up her sewing box and made for the door as Peter was walking back out of his room, now dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt that had a space shuttle caught in the tentacles of a blue space squid.

With a thank you, Peter handed Jan the uniform jacket and pants carefully, not wanting to move any of the carefully placed pins.

“No problem, Peter, I’ll have them back to you by Saturday.” Jan said before a final goodnight as she went out the door.

“I can’t believe Friday is going to be my last day at Stars Hollow High, I only have 2 days left.” Peter said excitedly as he sat down next to Clint, grabbing a slice of pizza on his way down.

“You’re better off without that place kid, Stars Hollow High isn’t exactly the best high school, just the only one around.” Clint had graduated from Stars Hollow High and he wasn’t exactly the best student, but he certainly wasn’t the worst. “I remember me and my brother once stole every single baseball from the gym, the baseball team had to practice with tennis balls.”

“Why would you steal baseballs?” Tony asked, grabbing the remote for the TV and slice of pizza for himself.

“You ever seen people try to play baseball with a tennis ball? It’s the best fun you’ll have all week.” Clint said as he finished off his beer. “Alright, I gotta get going, you mind if I bring some pizza with me? Lucky loves sausage on his pizza.”

“Are you sure pizza is the best thing to be feeding to your dog?” Peter asked as he handed Clint a paper plate.

“Well I’m not gonna tell him no, the guy loves this stuff.” Clint took three slices with him before grabbing his coat, “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

“Night Clint.” Both Tony and Peter replied before they heard the front door shut.

-

The next day, Tony was sitting in his car, just outside of the manor his parents lived in. He made sure to park his car just outside the gates so his parents or any of their staff wouldn’t see him out there for what must have been 15 minutes now.

“Come on Tony, this is for Peter. Just suck it up.” Taking the last sip of his coffee, Tony left the empty cup in the cup holder and went out to ring the doorbell.  
Fidgeting slightly with his fingers, Tony rang the bell and waited, pulling his coat tighter to keep the cold September air out as well as give him something to do with his hands. When the door opened, Tony put on the best smile he could.

“Hi, mom.”

Taken aback slightly, Maria smiled, “Anthony, isn’t this a surprise. Is it Easter already?”

Chuckling nervously, Tony tried to smile as much as he could without it seeming forced, “No, I ugh, finished up my business class and thought I’d stop by.”

“To see me?” Maria asked again, confused by the sudden appearance of her son.

“Yes.”

“Well, isn’t that nice. Come in.” Maria held the door open, letting Tony walk through.

“Thanks.” Tony couldn’t help the dryness in his throat, wishing he had more coffee. Stepping into the foyer of his childhood home, Tony took off his coat as he walked with his mother to the sitting room, “The place looks great.”

“It hasn’t changed.” His mother remarked, taking the second to examine Tony’s clothes.

“Well, there you go.” As they went to sit down, Tony tried to fill the growing awkward silence between them, “How are the girls at the bridge club?”

“Old.” Maria supplied shortly, as she sat down on the couch opposite the one Tony sat on.

“Well, good.” Tony agreed, running out of things to say.

Maria crossed her legs, “You said you were taking a business class?”

Feeling more on edge by the second, Tony could feel the stutter on his lips as he answered his mother, “Yeah, mm-hmm, yeah. I’m taking a business class at the college twice a week. I’m sure I told you.”

“Well, if you’re sure then you must have.” Maria nodded.

Looking down to the ground, Tony bit his tongue nervously.

“Would you like some tea?” His mother asked, politely trying to fill the awkward silence.

“I would love some coffee.” Tony answered quickly.

Before Maria could call the maid to come bring them drinks, they heard Tony’s father call out from down the hall, the front door shutting behind him. “Maria? I’m home.”

“We’re in here.” Maria answered before Howard entered, his head down as he flipped through the mail, his reading glasses on his nose.

“Hi, Dad.” Tony announced.

Pausing at the door, taking his reading glasses off, Howard asked, “What is it, Christmas already?” Looking to Maria for an answer.

“Anthony was taking a business class at the college today and decided to drop in to see us.” Maria supplied.

“Hm, what business class?” Howard asked as he made his way towards the bar cart that was behind the couch Tony sat on.

“Well, he told us about it, dear, remember?” Maria asked, a tone in her voice that seemed to tell everyone in the room ‘of course he didn’t tell us, he doesn’t tell us anything.’

“No.” Howard answered as he poured himself some scotch.

“Well, actually, I came here for a reason. Dad, would you mind sitting down for a minute?” Tony asked, feeling his nerves build, and why the hell hadn’t the maid brought any coffee?  
“You need money.” Howard answered, not even looking up from the bottle of scotch on the cart as he poured.

“I have a situation.”

“You need money.” Why his father held this tone, Tony wouldn’t understand. Ever since Tony had left with Peter at 16, he never once asked his parents for a single coin, why did he assume he was only here for cash?

Well…he was. But that didn’t mean that Howard had any right to be this way.

“Dad, will you please just let me get this out. Peter has been accepted to Chilton.” Tony finally managed to say, clutching his hands in his lap.

“Chilton? Oh that’s a wonderful school. It’s only five minutes from here.” Maria said, a delighted smile on her face. Tony knew he’d be able to win her over with talk of her one and only grandson. Even Howard turned to look at him as he spoke, moving the stand behind Maria.

“That’s right, it is. He can start as early as Monday.” Tony felt a bit more calmed, Peter being one of the only things he can safely talk about with his parents. “Well, the problem is that they want me to put down an enrollment fee, plus the first semesters tuition. And I have to do that immediately or he loses his spot.”

“So, you need money.” Howard reiterated.

“Yeah,” Tony sighed, his shoulders sagging. “But it’s not for me. It’s for Peter. And I fully intend to pay you back every cent. I don’t ask for favors, you know that.”

“Oh yes,” Maria looked up to Howard, “We know.”

“I’ll get the checkbook.” Howard said, turning to leave.

“Thank you,” Tony let out a sigh, feeling like a weight has been lifted, “You have no idea, thank you.”

“On one condition,” Maria held up her finger, telling everyone to hold on a second.

“So close,” Tony muttered under his breath.

“Because we are now financially involved in your life,” Maria paused to make eye contact with Tony, “I want to be actively involved in your life.”

“What does that mean, mother?” Tony asked hesitantly, and as Maria went on to continue, Howard sat down on the couch beside her.

“I want a weekly dinner.” Maria said.

“What?” Maybe he hadn’t heard her correctly.

“Friday nights you and Peter will have dinner here,” Maria explained, “And you have to call us once a week to give us an update on his schooling and your life. That’s it. That’s the condition. If you agree you’ll come to dinner tomorrow night and leave here with the check. Otherwise, I’m sorry, we can’t help you.”

Tony paused, looking down and not making eye contact with either of his parents; he couldn’t help the feeling his parents gave him. As though he were small and powerless, “I don’t want him to know that I borrowed money from you.” Tony pretended not to notice the pointed side-eye look his father gave his mother, “Can that just be between us?”

“Seven o’clock work for you?” Maria asked, a small smile on her lips.

“Perfect.” Tony tried to return the smile.

As Howard returned to reading his mail and opening the newspaper, Tony sighed, looking up at the portrait that was above the mantle next to them. It was him, as a little boy sitting in front of his parents.

He felt the same feeling now, small and dependent.

-

“And we get to wear uniforms, everyone dressed alike in boring clothes and just there to learn.” Peter said excitedly as he cleaned out his locker at Stars Hollow High, explaining more and more of the great things about his new school to Wanda.

“Okay, there’s academic minded, and then there’s Amish.” Wanda said smugly as Peter shut his locker, his arms filled with a box stuffed with his books and other belongings.

“Real funny,” Peter said as he tried to balance the box while his skateboard was tucked under his arm.

“So I told my dad this morning that you were changing schools,” Wanda added, just grabbing the skateboard from Peter, as she got frustrated watching him struggle.

“Was he thrilled?” Peter asked, knowing that Erik never liked him or his dad.

“The party’s on Friday.” Wanda joked as the two headed out the doors of the school.

“It just sucks that after all these years of being friends your dad still hates me.” Peter said, nudging his way past the other kids in the hall.

“He doesn’t hate you.” Wanda said, making sure the skateboard didn’t hit anyone.

“He hates my dad.” Peter said, matter-of-factly.

“He just doesn’t trust single-parents.” Peter rolled his eyes at Wanda’s answer, he’d long given up on getting his best friend’s dad to like him.

Looking at her watch, Wanda groaned, “Ugh, I have to go, I have German club today.” 

“Still haven’t found a way out of it?” Peter asked as he let Wanda tuck his skateboard under his arm.

“Not yet, I’m planning on telling him tonight it’s getting in the way of my religious study.” Wanda explained, “How do I look?”

Taking a step back, Peter looked Wanda up and down. Her hair long black hair in it’s usual high ponytail and wearing her usual red leather jacket and a plain t-shirt over some skinny jeans, “Like you have nothing better to do with your time than go to German club.”

“Perfect, I’ll see you later.” Wanda said as she started walking.

“Later.”

Turning to head towards the doors of the school, Peter dropped his skateboard from under his arms. Leaning down to pick it up he came face to face with a red-headed girl also leaning in to pick up the skateboard.

“Oh, hi. Sorry, if I uh, got in your way.” Peter said as the girl took the board in her hands.

“Oh no problem, you look like you need a hand.” The girl smiled as they both stood up.

“Yeah, thanks.”

“Are you moving?” She asked, a small smile on her lips.

“Oh no, just my books are.” Peter answered, suddenly feeling awkward.

“My family just moved here from New York.” She continued, keeping his skateboard in her hands.

“New York. Good pizza.” If Peter could kick himself he would.

“Yeah I never got the whole deep dish thing out in Chicago.” The girl smiled, chuckling at Peter’s lame joke. “I’m Mary-Jane but most people call me MJ.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Peter.”

“Well, nice to meet you Peter, but I better go. I have to look for a job.” Mary-Jane handed him his skateboard.

Before she could turn to leave Peter added, “Oh um, you should check with Natasha.”

“Natasha?” MJ questioned.

“She’s the dance instructor in town.” Peter continued.

“Oh well, I don’t really dance much.”

“Oh I just mean she kind of knows everything that’s going on around here, she’ll know if anyone is looking.” Peter explained, trying to not make himself sound any more stupid than he must already seem.

“Okay, cool. Thanks Peter, hopefully I’ll see you around?”

“Yeah, hope so.” Peter nodded as he watched Mary-Jane walk out of the school.

-

Sitting silently across the table from Peter in the diner, Tony couldn’t help but feel weird. Picking at his salad, Tony tried his best to find something to talk about.  
“So, you were late getting home tonight.” He said.

“Yeah, I went to the library.” Peter said hurriedly, looking up from his own salad.

“Oh,” Tony tapped his fingers nervously on the rim of his coffee cup, “I forgot to tell you, we’re having dinner with your grandparents tomorrow night.” Tony got out quickly before taking a sip.

“We are?”

“Mm-hmm”

“But it’s September.” Peter said, a confused look on his face.

“So?”

“So what holiday’s in September?” They never saw his grandparents unless it was a holiday.

“It’s not a holiday thing, it’s just dinner okay?” Tony said, probably a bit snappier than he meant it.

“Fine, sorry.”

Before anything else could be said, Steve dropped off their burgers and fries, “Try finishing a salad once in a while, it’ll do you both good.” Then Steve left to attend to other customers.  
Tony chuckled, not saying a word to Steve.

“So, Jan said she’ll probably have your uniform done by tomorrow night.” Tony supplied, hoping for some excitement from Peter. When nothing came he continued, “A grunt of acknowledgement might be nice.”

“I don’t understand why we’re going to dinner tomorrow night. I mean, what if I had plans? You didn’t even ask me.” Peter suddenly seemed upset and angry.

“Well if you’d had plans I would have known.” Tony answered, hand on his coffee cup again.

“How?” Peter asked.

“Well, you would have told me.” Tony answered, confused about where this came from.

“I don’t tell you everything.” Peter said more insistent.

“Hey, I had dibs on being the jerk tonight.” Tony pulled back, trying to lighten the conversation with a joke like he usually did.

“Just tonight?” Peter said just loud enough to make sure Tony heard.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Tony asked, concerned about what was going on all of a sudden. Before school today his son had been all smiles.

“I’m not sure I want to go to Chilton.” Peter finally answered.

“What?” Now Tony was confused all over again.

“The timing is just really bad.”

“The timing is bad?” Tony repeated, trying to wrap his head around it.

“The bus ride to and from Chilton is like 30 minutes each way.” Peter explained, getting himself worked up.

“I can’t believe what I’m hearing.” Tony said, looking for some kind of real logic.

“Plus, I don’t think we should be spending that money right now. I mean, I know Chilton’s got to be costing you a lot.”

“Oh you have no idea.” Tony felt his headache coming back.

“That money should be going into you opening your own inn, you and Clint.” Peter added.

“What about college? What about MIT?” Tony asked, not believing for one second that any of this was what was bothering Peter.

“We don’t know that I can’t get into MIT if I stay where I am.”

“Okay, okay.” Tony paused, “I appreciate your concern but I have this covered.”

“I still don’t want to go.”

“Just tell me why, Peter.” Tony said. When his son stayed quiet, Tony continued, “I have to get out of here.” Tony stood up and grabbed his coat. Slamming down some cash on the table to cover their bill and then some.

Peter quickly followed behind, throwing on his own coat.

Walking quietly side by side, the two passed by Natasha’s, a practice going on inside the studio. “Hey Peter,” Natasha waited for the both of them to stop walking, “I think I found a job for your cute friend.”

“What cute friend?” Tony turned to Peter.

“They need a new cashier over at the supermarket. I already talked to Nick Fury about her. You just send her over tomorrow.” Natasha finished.

“Okay, thanks.” Peter said, turning to go.

“What cute friend?” Tony asked a second time.

“Oh she’s very cute. You have good taste.” Natasha turned back to her class as Peter started fast-walking towards their house.

“Oh you’ll have to walk faster than that.” Tony started following, “You’re gonna have to turn into Usain Bolt to get away from me.”

-

Storming into the house, Peter slammed the door behind him, just for Tony to open it again, following Peter on the warpath to his bedroom. “This is about a girl. Of course, I can’t believe I didn’t see it. All this talk about money and bus rides. You got a thing going with a cutie at school and you don’t want to leave school.”

“I’m going to bed.” Peter said dryly.

“God, I’m so dense. That should have been my first thought. After all, you’re me.” Tony said, wildly gesturing to his son.

“I’m not you,” Peter paused at his doorway, turning to look at his dad.

“Really? Someone willing to throw important life experiences out the window to be with some girl. It sounds like me to me.” Tony explained.

“Whatever.” Peter turned to shut the door, just for Tony to catch it before it could close and enter the bedroom.

“So who is she?”

“There’s no girl.” Peter said again, louder this time.

“Red hair, wrinkles her nose when she laughs? Maybe she wears crop tops, show the midriff, those are the easy ones.” Tony continued on.

“Thanks for the knock.” Peter said, taking his shoes off and flopping down onto his bed.

“Okay,” Tony sighed, “How about we start over. You tell me all about the girl and I promise not to let my head explode.” Peter stayed silent, turning on his bedside lamp and grabbing a book from his backpack on the floor. “Peter? Please talk to me.”

When Peter stayed quiet, Tony continued, taking a seat on Peter’s bed, “Okay, I’ll talk. Don’t get me wrong, Girls are great. Hell, guys are great, whatever you like is totally fine with me, and you know that. I am a huge fan of people in general. You don’t get to be a single dad at 16 by being indifferent to people.”

When it looked like Peter was going to continue ignoring him, Tony went on, “But girls are always going to be there. This school isn’t. It’s more important, it has to be more important.”  
“I’m going to sleep.” Peter said, bringing his knees to his chest, pulling himself away from the spot where his dad had sat down.

“Peter, you’ve always been the sensible one in this house. I need you to remember that feeling now. You will kick your own butt later if you blow this.” Tony added, not going anywhere.  
“Well, it’s my butt.” Peter said, putting his book down and turning away from his dad.

“Good comeback.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Well at least they still had manners in an argument, Tony at least knew he did something right, “Peter, come on.”

“I don’t want to talk about this, can’t you just leave me alone like any regular dad.” Peter said.

“Okay, fine.” Tony stood up, crossing his hands over his chest, “We always had a democracy in this house. We never did anything unless we both agreed. But now I guess I’m going to have to play the dad card.” Tony had never felt more like his own father in his life, “You are going to Chilton whether you want to or not. Monday morning, you will be there, end of story.”

“We’ll see.” Peter said as Tony turned to shut the door behind him.

“Yeah we will.” Tony slammed the door.

-

“Get those plates out Jay. Mack you have exactly five second to take that fish out before I smack you with it. Liz, you’re slicing not dicing, I can see it in your wrist.” Clint was firing off instructions to his kitchen staff left and right, trying to keep up with their lunch rush in the Inn dining room.

“Slow down, Clint you’re gonna give me a migraine.” Tony said, sipping his coffee as he leaned back against the counter.

“Peter still mad at you huh?” Clint asked as he continued frosting cupcakes.

“Hey, I’m not so thrilled with him either.” Tony added.

“It was a fight, kids fight with their parents.” Clint replied, switching from frosting to baking green beans.

“No, we don’t fight. We never fight.” Tony said, exasperated, “We’re best friends, we go together like peanut butter and jelly, green eggs and ham, it’s like I’m a superhero and he’s my sidekick.”

Picking up a plate, adding the final garnishing before leaving it to the servers, Clint chuckled, “Wasn’t there something about a Civil War?”

Phil poked his head into the kitchen, “You told me to let you know when your son arrived. Well he’s here, and his scowl is scaring the guests.”

“Hold on Clint.” Tony head out towards the front desk.

Walking over, Tony saw Peter, his nose stuck in a book, “You left a note to meet you here.” Peter said without looking up.

“Thought you might want to work a couple of hours, earn some extra cash waiting tables.” Tony answered, flipping open his work portfolio.

“Fine.” Peter said shortly.

“You’re not gonna give me the ‘Mommy Dearest’ treatment forever are you?” Tony asked, pulling open one of the desk drawers, trying to find his reading glasses.

“You wanted me here, I’m here. Should I do something or what?” Peter asked, finally looking up from his book.”

“Yeah, go home.” Tony dropped his portfolio onto the desk counter, “Dinner’s at 7, be ready to go.”

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

\- 

Both Tony and Peter stood silently in front of the front door of the Stark Manor, a cup of coffee clutched in Tony’s hand. He had to dress up or face the judgmental eye of his mother all night, so he was fitted in one of his finer suits and his best tie.

“So, do we go in or do we just stand out here all night reenacting ‘The Little Match Girl’ all night?” Peter asked snarkily.

“Okay, look,” Tony turned to look at Peter, “I know you and me are having a thing and I know you hate me but I need you to be civil. At least through dinner, and then on the way home you can pull a Menendez. Deal?”

“Fine.”

Tony shook his head before reaching past Peter to hit the doorbell to the house.

When the door opened to reveal Maria standing there, Peter smiled, “Hi grandma.”

“Well, you’re right on time.” Opening the door wider, Maria let both of the boys in so that they could take off their coats.

“Yeah, yeah, no traffic at all.” Tony could already feel his coffee buzz wearing off as he spoke.

“I can’t tell you what a treat it is to have my boys here.” Maria said, shutting the front door and taking both of their coats.

“Oh, well, we’re excited too.” Tony smiled.

“Is that a collector’s cup or can I throw it away for you?” Maria asked, gesturing towards the disposable coffee cup still in Tony’s hand.

“Oh,” Tony said, just realizing that he was still holding it, before he turned to throw it away in the trash can by the front door.

“In the kitchen, please.” Maria added.

“Sorry.” Tony stopped.

“So,” Maria turned to Peter, taking her grandson’s hands in her own as she turned them to walk towards the sitting room, “I want to hear all about Chilton.”

“Well, I haven’t actually started yet.” Peter said to his grandma as they walked, leaving Tony by the front door.

Before walking to join them, Tony dropped the paper cup into the trash bin by the door.

As Maria and Peter walked into the sitting room, they saw Howard already sitting there waiting, “Howard, look who’s here.” Maria said excitedly, leaving Peter standing in front of his grandfather as she made drinks.

“Peter,” Howard looked up from his newspaper, taking a look at his grandson, “you’re tall.”

“I guess.” Peter smiled, feeling like he was being watched like prey to a hawk. 

“What’s your height?”

“Five-eleven?” Peter explained, not seeing why his grandpa wanted to know.

“That’s tall,” Howard said, before turning back towards Maria, “He’s tall, must not take after your father too much.”

“Hi, dad.” Tony greeted as he walked in.

“Anthony, your son’s tall.”

“Oh, I know. It’s freakish, we’re thinking of having him studied at Columbia.” Tony joked, hoping to lighten the thickness in the air.

“Champagne anyone?” Maria came over carrying a silver tray with tall champagne flutes.

“Oh, that’s fancy.” Tony said, taking one and passing another to Peter.

“Well, it’s not every day I have my boys here for dinner.” Turning to smile at her son, Maria held up her champagne, “A toast. To Peter entering Chilton and an exciting new phase in his life.”

“Here, here.” Howard said, holding up his own champagne glass.

“Well, let’s sit everyone.” Maria gestured to the sofas. Peter sat down next to his grandfather while Maria and Tony sat on the opposite couch.

“This is just wonderful, an education is the most important thing in the world, next to family.” Maria said to Peter, and in a way, Tony was grateful that his mother was saying this. Hopefully it would convince Peter to go along with attending Chilton.

-

A little while later, sitting around the dinner table, Tony was thankful that nothing seemed to blow up in his face just yet, but they had only just started eating and there was plenty of awkward silence.

“So, Peter, how’s the lamb?” Maria asked, sitting at one head of the table.

“Oh, it’s great grandma,” Peter answered, not making eye contact with his dad across from him.

“Too dry?” She asked again, trying to make sure that he was enjoying his meal.

“No, it’s perfect.” Peter smiled to her.

Another stiff silence filled the dining room.

“So,” Peter tried filling the silence again, “grandpa, how’s the inventing bizz?”

“Oh, haven’t invented anything in a few months now. Mostly doing research these days.” Howard said before turning to Tony, “How are things at the motel?”

“The Inn? They’re great.” Tony said, trying not to get defensive as he reached for his drink.

“Anthony is the executive manager now, isn’t that wonderful?” Maria smiled, trying to get Howard’s attention. Tony turned to his mom, not sure why that pleased him so much.

“Speaking of which, Maya called the other day,” Howard announced.

“Speaking of which? How is that a speaking of which.” Tony asked, not liking where this was going.

“She’s had a big breakthrough in her research. Expects another academic paper with her findings to be out next month.” Howard didn’t look up from his food as he spoke, “Very talented woman, your mother.”

“He knows,” Tony tried to cut in.

“And very smart, you must take after her.”

Tony put his fork down onto the table before sliding his chair out and standing up, “Speaking of which, I’m going to grab a coke,” As he walked behind his father’s chair to get through the door to the kitchen, Tony added, “or a knife.”

Heading into the kitchen, Tony looked around for something to do with his hands, settling on pouring himself a cup of coffee, luke warm from sitting out for a while. 

Back at the table, Peter tried to get up, “Maybe I’ll go talk to him,”

“No,” Maria interrupted getting up and getting halfway across the room already, “I’ll go. You stay and enjoy your dinner.”

Swinging the door open into the kitchen, Maria put her hands onto the island counter as Tony turned to look at her, “Anthony, come back to the table.”

“Is this what it’s going to be like every Friday night? I sit here while you and dad attack me?” Tony asked, tapping his finger against the rim of his mug.

“You’re being very dramatic.” Maria said.

“Dramatic? Were you at that table just now?” Tony asked, feeling himself get riled up.

“Yes, I was, and I think you took what your father said the wrong way.” Maria explained.

“The wrong way? How could I have taken it the wrong way? What was open to interpretation?” Tony asked, his words getting faster the more upset he got.

Back at the dining table, Peter could here his grandmother say, “Keep your voice down.” And his father responding with a curt, “No. I can’t take it anymore. Tonight just seems like a nightmare.”

Tony put down his coffee mug onto the counter, standing on the opposite end of the island from his mother, “Why do you pounce on every single thing that I say?”

“You barely uttered a word all night.” Maria answered.

“Why would he bring up Maya? Was that really necessary?” Tony asked, feeling his head start to pound. He swore he never got headaches before this week started.

“He likes Maya.”

“Isn’t that interesting? Because as I remember, when Maya was pregnant, Dad didn’t like her so much.” Tony started pacing slowly back and forth, sick of the circle that he got into every time he saw his parents.

“Oh, please, you were sixteen. What were we supposed to do? Throw you a party? We were disappointed. The two of you had such bright futures.” Maria said, Tony could hear the waver in her voice.

“By not getting married we managed to keep those bright futures.” Tony explained for what felt like the thousandth time.

“When you get pregnant, you get married. A child needs a mother and a father.”

“Mom, do you think Maya would have her own company right now if we’d gotten married. Do you think she would be anything at all?”

“Yes, you would have finished your degree and you’d be living a lovely life right now.” Maria crossed her arms.

“I am living a lovely life right now, Mom.” Tony explained, he could feel an all too familiar sting behind his eyes.

“Right, far away from us.” Maria said, pulling the sweater she wore a touch tighter over her shoulders.

“Oh, here we go.” Tony took another sip of coffee.

“You took that boy and completely shut us out of your life.” Maria continued.

“You wanted to control me.” Tony argued.

“You were still a child, Anthony. You were still my young boy.” Maria was doing her best to keep the tears at bay and Tony hated doing this, he hated that this happened every time they saw one another.

“I stopped being a child the minute I saw my son, okay? I had to figure out how to live. I found a good job.” Tony tried to explain.

“As a maintenance man, a janitor. With all your brains and talent.”

“I worked my way up, I run the place now.” Tony would go to the ends of the earth to defend his Inn, he loved it almost as much as he loved Peter; “I built a life on my own with no help from anyone.”

“Yes, and think of where you’d been if you’d accepted a little help.” Maria added, “And where Peter would have been? But no, you were always too proud to accept anything from anyone.”

“Well, I wasn’t too proud to come here to you two, begging for money for my kid’s school, was I?” Tony asked, his voice near breaking. He hated these conversations and he hated how much it hurt to fight with his mother, how much he hurt her.

Peter turned towards the kitchen door, his shoulders slumping; boy he’d really done it now.

“Well, now you have your pride, and I have my weekly dinners.” Maria said, grabbing a spare napkin from the counter, “We both win.” She turned towards the door again, dabbing her eyes dry as she walked out and back out to the dining room.

-

Leaving the manor house, Tony shut the front door behind him, sticking his hands in his coat pockets as he leaned against the stone masonry that made up the front archway. Peter pulled on his beanie before crossing his arms.

“Dad?”

“I’m okay,” Tony smiled, standing up straight, “Just, do I look shorter? Because I feel shorter.”

“How about I buy you a cup of coffee?” Peter asked, heading towards the car.

“Yeah, but you drive though. I don’t think my feet will reach the pedals.” Tony joked, handing Peter his keys.

-

“I think tonight went well.” Peter said, sitting down at their usual table at Steve’s diner.

“Oh yeah, so much coffee has never been consumed under that roof.” Tony chuckled.

“You and grandma seemed to have a nice talk.” Peter said, playing with his napkin.

“How much did you hear?” Tony asked, not making eye contact.

“Not a lot,” Peter looked around, not many people around in the diner, “Snippets.”

“Snippets?” Tony questioned, his eyes rising to meet Peter’s.

“Little snippets.” Peter nodded, sticking to his story.

“So basically everything?” Tony smirked, knowing he’d been found out.

“Basically yes.” Peter confirmed, spotting Steve coming from behind the counter to bring dessert to an older couple at the opposite end of the restaurant.

“Well, the best laid plans.” Tony gave up, he was now officially resigned to his mother always winning.

“I think it was really brave of you to ask them for money.” Peter confessed, waving to Steve who finally noticed them and was grabbing his pen and paper. Peter couldn’t help but notice that Steve had forgone his usual t-shirt and jeans and was instead in a button down and slacks.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Tony sighed.

“How many meals is it gonna take till we’re off the hook?”

“I think the deli spread at my funeral will be the last one.” Tony smiled, “Wait, does that mean, you’re pumped for Chilton again?”

“Can’t let a perfectly good blazer go to waste.” Peter joked, happy that his dad was back to himself after such a long night.

“Kid, you won’t be sorry.” Tony smiled.

As Steve came over to their table, Tony noticed the change in clothes, “Wow, you look nice. Really nice.”

“I had a meeting earlier at the bank. They like nicer getups.” Steve smiled, “You look nice too.”

“I had a flagellation to go to.” Tony snarked, his usual smirk back and better than ever.

“So, what’ll you have?”

“Coffee, in a vat.”

“I’ll have coffee also, and chili fries.” Peter answered.

“That’s quite a refined palate you got there.” Steve shook his head before turning back to the kitchen.

Tony leaned in closer to Peter, “Behold the healing powers of a pressed shirt and slacks.” As Peter shook his head, Tony remembered something and continued, “So, tell me about the girl.”

“You know what’s really special about this father-son thing we got going?” Peter asked, smirking back at his dad, “The total understanding about the need for one’s privacy. I mean you really understand boundaries.”

“So tell me about the girl.” Tony tried again.

“Dad.”

“Is she dreamy?”

“That’s so Nick at Nite.” Peter shook his head.

“I’m gonna find out anyway.” Tony said nonchalantly.

“How?”

“Uh, I’ll spy.” As though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Here’s your coffee and fries.” Steve put down the drinks and the dish, and as Peter picked up the coffee, Steve sighed, “Alright I can’t stand this. This is so unhealthy. Peter, please put down that cup of coffee. You do not want to grow up to be like your dad.”

“Sorry, too late.” Peter said, sipping his coffee before digging in for some fries.

Tony just smiled up to Steve before picking up his own coffee.


	2. The First Day at Chilton

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter is officially in Chilton and things are just starting to get cooking and Peter is starting to feel the heat in the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really glad people seem to be liking the story so far, I'm going to try to update once a week minimum depending on how much writing I get done but seeing as how it's a holiday I'll upload the second chapter right after the first.

Sitting in the car together, Tony and Peter stared up at the Chilton School.

“I remember it being smaller.” Peter finally said, swallowing the lump that was forming in his throat as he looked at the imposing building.

“Yeah,” Tony agreed, “And less…”

“Off with their heads?” Peter offered.

“Yeah!” Tony tilted his head, trying to take a better look at something.

“What are you looking at?” Peter asked, tilting his head to look.

“Just trying to see if there’s a hunchback up in that bell tower.”

Sitting back in the seat of his dad’s Jeep, Peter asked, “So, how do I look?”

“Absolutely stunning,” Tony smiled as he tapped Peter’s leg hopefully being encouraging, “You are an amazing kid, you earned this. You just go in there and show them what smart really is.”

“Alright come on, otherwise we’ll be late.” Peter said, grabbing his backpack.

“Are you absolutely sure you need me to meet the Headmaster? I mean, doesn’t it seem like it’s time to cut the umbilical cord?” Tony asked, hoping to get out of it.

“It’s expected of all parents, now come on.”

They both climbed out of the Jeep, Peter triple checking to make sure he had everything he needed before letting them go.

“So where do we need to go?” Tony asked.

“Uh, The Ambroise Building.” Peter said, reading off of his notecards.

“Which is…?” Tony couldn’t see any signs or directories at all as they walked in through the main archway and into the courtyard of the school.  
“The big scary one.”

“Thanks for the input.”

“Lost?” Someone asked behind them. Tony turned around to see a taller man in a grey suit. He was well dressed and had a nice smile, not half bad in the looks department either.

“Oh, yeah. We’re looking for the Headmaster’s Office, the Ambroise Building?” He asked.

“Ah, well, this is it right here.” The man gestured behind him to the building the two had just walked past. “Just go inside, down the stairs, make a left, and the Headmaster’s office is at the end of the hall.”

“Great, thank you so much.” Tony said, feeling Peter tug at his arm. But they both were stopped when the man held out his hand to Tony.

“I’m Ian McCall, my daughter Meredith goes to this school.”

“Hi, I’m Anthony Stark, this is my son Peter.” Anthony introduced them both.

“You’re son, really? That’s great. Pleasure to meet you both.” An awkward smile was on the man’s face, “Is your wife anywhere around here?”

“I’m not married,” Tony answered, “And you? I’d love to meet your wife.”

“I’m divorced.”

“Such a shame.” Tony answered, “Now if you’ll excuse me, we have to go meet with the headmaster and I’ve got to get to work.”

“Oh, where do you work?” Ian asked, turning to where the two were about to walk.  
“An Inn, The Independence Inn, I run it.” Tony answered, feeling Peter tug on his suit jacket again.

“Well, it was nice to meet you, Anthony, hope we meet again soon,” turning to Peter, Ian added, “Good luck in school, Peter, I’ll tell Meredith to look out for you.”

“Great thanks.” Peter said, as Ian started walking away, turning to his dad, Peter snarked, “You must feel pretty good about yourself right now.”

“Little bit,” Tony smiled, “come on, let’s meet the big guy on campus.”

Heading down the stairs and to the end of the hall of the impressive school, Tony felt the memories of the big impressing building coming back to him, the marble floors, the busts of dead people and their portraits hung. He didn’t miss it one bit. Tony and Peter stopped in front of two big double doors with a plaque on it reading “Headmistress Potts”.

“You wonder if we’ll meet Vice President Pans while we’re here?” Tony joked, seeing the nervous look on Peter’s face, “never mind.”

Opening the doors, the two saw an older woman, her hair in a tight enough bun to rival Natasha’s ballerinas’ hairdos. The woman was dressed crisply for a professional setting, and her face seemed to be set in a stone scowl.

“Excuse me, we’re here to meet with Headmistress Potts, I’m Anthony Stark and this is my son Peter.”

“Just one moment.” The woman stood up from her desk before entering the two double doors on the wall beside her.

Tony leaned in to Peter and whispered, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull secretary.”

Peter nudged his dad and the two turned to see her return from the office, “Headmistress Potts will see you now.”

“Thank you.” Tony smiled to her as he led Peter into the room.

A professional but friendly looking young woman was stood waiting for them, her all-white pantsuit was nicely pressed and her red hair was stylish yet practical.

“Mr. Stark, I’m Headmistress Potts.” She held out her hand for Tony to shake.

“Hi, It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Potts.” He took her hand in his, giving a smile and polite hand shake before turning to see his mother, sat on the leather sofa on the side of the room, a cup of tea in her hands, “And, mom. What a surprise. What are you doing here?”

“Oh I just came to wish my grandson luck on his first day of school,” Setting down her tea, Maria came over to the both of them, looking Peter up and down, “That uniform looks wonderful on you.”

“Oh mom, that’s very nice of you but you didn’t have to come all the way out here for that.” Tony was trying his best to keep his smile bright.

“Oh nonsense, it also gave me a chance to make sure that Virginia here takes good care of our Peter.” Maria wrapped an arm around Peter, guiding him to one of the chairs in front of the headmistress’s desk.

“You’re Virginia I assume?” Tony asked, gesturing to the Headmistress.

“Virginia Potts, yes. My mother and Maria are on the Symphony Fundraising Committee together.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful to hear.”

“Please, won’t you come have a seat.” Ms. Potts gestured to the seat next to where Peter had been sat down.

“Now Virginia, this is a very special young man, you take good care of him.” Maria insisted.

“We will of course do our best, Maria.” Ms. Potts smiled, standing behind her desk.

“Oh now you won’t have any problems with Peter,” Tony put his hand on his sons arm, sure he was feeling nervous, “he’s very studious, the finest student in his old school, and recommendations sky high.”

“Well, I don’t think we should take up any more of your precious time, Virginia. It was lovely to see you dear. Please give Lauren our love.” Maria smiled, leaning in to give the other woman a hug.

“Of course, and I hope to see you and your husband at the symphony next weekend.”  
Turning to the boys, Maria smiled, “Have a wonderful day, Peter. I want to hear all about it. Come along Anthony.”

Patting Peter on the arm one more time, Tony stood up to shake the Headmistress’s hand, “It was a pleasure meeting you, Ms. Potts.”

“Likewise, Mr. Stark.”

Leaving the office with his mother, Tony shut the office door quietly behind them. Waving a goodbye and a quick ‘good day’ to the secretary, Tony caught up with Maria. How that woman could speed-walk in heels was beyond him.

“I must say Anthony, you dressed wonderfully for your first meeting with the Headmaster today.” Tony almost had to stop in his tracks. His mother approved of his outfit. Well it was one of the nicest suits he owned. 

“Thanks mom. You look lovely today as usual.” He may as well continue playing nice, no touchy subjects.

“Thank you. I’m glad to see you got Peter’s uniform properly tailored.” Maria continued, not looking back as she was speaking, heading up the stairs to the main entrance of the building.

“The work of one of Stars Hollow’s finest, I assure you.” Tony’s smile was genuine as he imagined Jan’s reaction when he would tell her that his mother gave her blessing on her work.

Reaching the parking lot, the two looked at each other before Tony smiled, “See you on Friday mom?”

“Friday.” Maria smiled, turning towards her car and walking away from her son.

-

Back in the Headmistress’s office, Virginia had taken the seat where Tony had previously been sitting, next to Peter.

“Well, you’re obviously a very bright young man, Mr. Stark.” She said with a friendly smile on her lips.

“Thank you.” Peter said, his posture ram rod straight, trying his best to make a good impression.

“Good grades, your teachers like you.” Ms. Potts continued, looking through his transcripts, “Not a lot of social activities though.”

“Oh, well, just living in Stars Hollow is a social activity really. We hold weekly town meetings and all volunteer a lot of our time for fundraising and town productions.” Peter smiled.

“Nothing in your school appealed to you?” Ms. Potts asked.

“Well, after school I sometimes work at my mother’s Inn and we used to have a literature club at Stars Hollow High, but we didn’t have enough members to make it an official club.”

“What are your aspirations?” Ms. Potts put down Peter’s transcript, giving him her full attention.

“I want to go to MIT and study biomechanics and engineering.” Peter answered.  
“On your way to being…” Ms. Potts started for him.

“An inventor of sorts,” Peter began, “There are a lot of ways that engineering and mechanics can save peoples lives, but they aren’t polished or researched enough to be put into practice. I’d like to build biomedical devices that could potentially save peoples lives.”

Ms. Potts nodded as she stood up and returned to her chair behind her desk, “Chilton has on of the highest academic standards of any school in America. The pressures are greater here, the rules are stricter, and the expectations are higher. If you make it through, you will have received one of the finest educations one can get, and there should be no reason why you should not achieve all your goals.

“However, since you are starting late and are not used to this competitive atmosphere, you will need to do a great deal of catching up. However, once you have caught up, I do not see any reason why you should fail.”

Peter nodded, “Understood, Ms. Potts.” He reached down to pick up his bag.

“Peter,” Peter paused, looking to the Headmistress, “No one here will want to see you fail, help is given to those who seek it out. Now, if you’re all set, take this with you to the Administration office across the hall to Miss. James. They will get you your schedule and locker.”

“Thank you, Ms. Potts.” Peter took the folder that was held out to him, “Have a good day, Ma’am.”

“And to you, Peter.”

Walking out of the office, Peter slung his bag over his shoulder and went across the hall, going over to the counter where a woman was standing, “Hi, I’m looking for Ms. James?”

“Name?”

“Peter Stark.” The woman picked out a form from a folder next to her and left it on the counter with a pen.

“Fill this out.” She picked up the folder Peter had put down, bringing it with her away form the counter.

By the time Peter had filled out the paperwork, Ms. James had come back with a map and several other papers in her hand, “Here’s the dining room, the science hall, the theater. Here’s your locker number, your schedule. Here are the rules of the school and the Chilton Honor code. Here are the words to the school song, which must be recited upon demand. This can happen anyplace, anytime. If you do it in Latin, you get extra credit. Do you have any questions?”

“Not at the moment.” Peter felt himself getting overwhelmed already, he needed to breathe.

“If you do have any questions you can make an appointment to see your Guidance counselor, Mr. Xavier. Welcome to Chilton.” With a creepy smile, Ms. James set Peter off.

-

Tony entered Steve’s diner, sitting down at the counter as Steve was trying to fix his toaster, “This has already been the longest day of my life and look, it’s only 10AM.”

“There’s no coffee.” Steve said deadpan, not looking up from his work.

“That’s not funny.” Tony shook his head.

“I can give you tea.” Steve suggested, his toaster still not cooperating.

“This isn’t a tea kind of morning,” Tony added, “It’s a coffee morning.”

“Every morning for you is a coffee morning, Tony.”

“I need to be swimming in a pool of coffee, Steve come one. Deliver the goods.”

Putting down his screwdriver onto the counter, Steve looked to Tony, “I can give you tea and a muffin.”

Tony picked up the screwdriver, beginning to fix the toaster himself, “Please, please tell me you’re kidding.” It wasn’t unusual for Tony to lend his handyman services to his friends, especially for something as simple as a toaster.

Steve walked over to a table, taking the order of an elderly couple, two of his regular customers from around town. Then took the order and stuck it into the kitchen for the cook to prepare.

Tony groaned at the man for ignoring him, using the screwdriver to pull out the burnt toast crust wedged into the toaster in no time flat. When Steve returned to the counter he pointed the end of the screwdriver at him, “I’m holding your toaster hostage until I get my coffee, now tell me you were joking.”

Rolling his eyes, Steve reached behind the doorway into the kitchen, pulling out the coffee pot, “Fine, I was kidding.”

“That’s despicable, withholding medication from someone in need.” Tony pushed the toaster over to the side of the counter, making room for his coffee, being put into a to-go cup.

“You want to know what this stuff does to your nervous system?” Steve asked even as he poured.

“Do you have a chart because I love charts,” Tony smiled as Steve handed him the cup.

“Forget it, kill yourself with caffeine.” Steve resigned, “Thanks for fixing the toaster.”

“No problem.” Taking a sip of the coffee, Tony practically moaned, “God, I needed this.”

“So, what happened this morning that was so awful anyways?” Steve asked, noticing Tony’s get up. Not that Tony wasn’t always a well-dressed guy, but lately he’d been in more expensive suits and fancy ties.

“Peter started Chilton.” Tony explained, taking another sip of coffee as Steve brought a plate of food to a man sitting at the end of the counter.

“Didn’t go so smooth?” Steve asked as he started filling up the empty salt shakers on the counter.

“It all went fine, at least I think it did,” Tony always had bad feelings about strange new things, and he hadn’t been inside of Chilton since he was a teenager, “We got there and couldn’t find the headmaster’s office and one of the Chilton dads ended up giving us directions, and to my surprise I think the guy was hitting on me.”

Steve looked up, “One of the dad’s hit on you?”

“Yeah, he even asked where I worked.” Tony took a sip of coffee, “And then when we finally got to the Headmaster’s office, surprise again, my mother was waiting there.”

“You’re mom was waiting in the principal’s office?” Steve asked, as he brought the coffee pot over to a table, refilling the cups, before returning to the counter.

“Apparently, my mother is best friends with the Headmistress and her parents.”

“What did she say?” Steve didn’t really know much about Tony’s parents, he never spoke of his family.

“Mostly just to take care of Peter, he’s a Stark after all.” Tony smiled, picking the coffee cup up off the counter as he got ready to go, “But she did approve of my attire, thought it very appropriate for a first meeting with a Headmaster. So things are lookin’ up.”

“Well at least you got something good out of it.”

“I’ll see you later, Steve I gotta get going.” Tony said, turning towards the door.  
“Lay off the coffee.” Steve shouted after him.

-

Pulling up to his house, Tony got out and walked up and into the front door, hearing the phone ringing as soon as he did. Heading into the living room, Tony searched the messy coffee table and couch before finding the phone under a magazine.

“Hello?” Tony greeted as he pulled off his suit jacket.

“Anthony?” Tony sighed.

“Mom?”

“Anthony good, I’m going shopping this afternoon, and I thought I’d pick up a few things for Peter.” Maria said, Tony could practically hear her pen in her planner, scribbling furiously everything she wanted to buy for her grandson.

“Like what?”

“Oh, a couple of extra tops and pants for school.” Maria answered, but Tony knew that wasn’t all there was.

“Okay, but I already took care of all of that, Mom.” Tony explained, walking into the kitchen and grabbing a pop tart to put in the toaster, “I got him three pairs of pants and a bunch of tops.”

“But there are five days in a school week.” Maria continued.

“Really? Are you sure?” Tony knew better than to argue with his mother, “Because my ‘Days of the Week’ underwear only go to Wednesday.”

“Is that a joke?” Maria asked.

“Three pairs of pants are fine, Mom.” Tony tried to segue, “Don’t worry about it.”  
“Well, what if he gets one pair dirty or torn?” Maria kept pushing.

“Then, he’ll wear the other ones.” Tony said, pulling his now hot pop tart out of the toaster and onto a plate.

“What if he gets those dirty?”

“Well then we’ll use these newfangled things called a washing machine. The town just chipped in and bought one. My turn’s Tuesday.”

“Well then what about socks, Chilton has these special logo socks. Peter should have them.” Tony knew his mother just wanted to provide for her one and only grandson, so he’d have to let some things slip by.

“Well, whatever you want, Mom.”

“And what about the school sweater? He might like that.” He could hear the smile in her voice, this wasn’t going to stop any time soon, “And there’s a sweater vest, and the book bag.”

“Ugh the sweater vest sure, but Peter doesn’t need another backpack, Mom.” Tony tried to at least control her a little bit.

“Peter should have these things, he’ll be the only one who doesn’t.” Maria insisted.

“He’ll live.”

“I’m at least getting him the Chilton coat, is he a medium?”

“Mom, please.”

“This is a simple question, Anthony.” Maria kept pushing. Tony didn’t want to upset her again when they had ended on a good note this morning, but he didn’t want her spending all of this money.

“He’s a medium, but I’d get a large in case he grows.”

“If he grows, I’ll buy another.” Maria explained, he could hear her pen furiously scribbling.

“Okay, well then a medium is great, I gotta go mom, bye.” Tony hung up, taking a bite of his poptart.

-

Sitting in his first class, Peter was trying to keep up with his notes, the teacher’s style being fast-passed and unfamiliar made it all the more difficult.

“And while French culture was the dominant outside cultural influence, especially for Russia’s moneyed class, English culture also had its impact. Tolstoy’s favorite author for instance, was…” The teacher set up a question for the class, a boy in the front row’s hand was up, no one else even bothering as the teacher gestured to the young man.

“Dickens.” The boy answered.

“Yes. And of course last week we covered Dostoevski’s main authorial influences,” The teacher continued, just for the young man’s hand to be held up again.

“George Sand and Balzac.” He supplied easily.

“Good. As Tolstoy commenced writing both ‘War and Peace’ and ‘Anna Karenina’ Count Leo would turn to…”

“David Copperfield.” The man answered without even raising his hand.

“Correct. He would turn to ‘David Copperfield’ for inspiration.”

As the bell rang, the teacher announced, “Class dismissed.”

The others in the class stood up and gathered their things, the teacher called out, “Mr. Stark could you come up here please.”

Walking up to the teacher, Peter was handed a large binder, several divider tabs sticking out of it on the side, “These are last weeks study materials, there will be a test on them tomorrow. Because you are new, you may take a makeup on Monday. Will that be sufficient time?”

“Monday?” Peter could feel himself about to be sick, “Ugh, yeah Monday will be fine.”

“Very good, that is just an overview, it will be very helpful to you to borrow one the other student’s personal notes.” The teacher explained, “They tend to be more detailed.”

“More detailed than this?” Peter gestured to the binder in his hand.

“It seems daunting right now, I know.” The teacher continued.

“No, no. It’s okay, I’ll be fine.” Peter tried his best not to let his worry show on his face.

“Remember to get those notes, they’ll be a lifesaver. I’d recommend Harry Osborn, he’s my best student so far, and his notes will be very thorough.” 

“Thank you, sir. I’ll be sure to.” Peter said, walking out of the room.

Walking over to his locker to put this binder in until the end of the day, Peter saw someone standing next to it, the same boy that was answering all of the teacher’s questions in class.

Opening his locker, Peter smiled to the boy, “Hi,” he greeted, putting his books into his locker.

“Hi, Harry Osborn, nice to meet you.” The boy was casually leaning against a locker, looking casual and cool.

“Peter Stark, nice to meet you.” Peter smiled, happy that the people in this school weren’t as stuffy and mean as he thought they’d be.

“You’re new right? Just transferred in?” Harry asked.

“Yeah, today is my first day, actually.” Peter nodded.

“Well, I’m top of our class, I plan on being valedictorian when I graduate.” Harry continued, Peter was feeling more and more like he was supposed to be intimidated by the second.

“Well, I hope you get there.” Shutting his locker, Peter pulled out the map he had been using to get around.

“What’s your next class?” Harry asked.

“Ugh, world history with Masterson?” Peter answered, having to check his schedule.  
“I’m heading there next, why don’t you walk with me.” Harry seemed to be commanding rather than asking, but if he knew where the class was then Peter wasn’t going to complain.

“That would be great, thank you.” Peter smiled, tucking the map back into his folder, “I hate to ask since we just met and all, but since you’re top of the class. Would you mind if I borrowed your notes for that literature test?” Peter paused, “After you were finished with them of course.”

“Yeah, no problem buddy, whatever you need.” Harry smiled, leading Peter towards their next class.

-

In the kitchen of the Independence Inn, Clint was smelling and testing each peach that was in the crate that Bruce had brought him.

“They’re smaller than the last batch you brought me.” Clint critiqued.

“No, they are not smaller.” Bruce answered, getting frustrated but was used to dealing with Clint by now. He was a perfectionist with his work and only demanded the best produce. Which is why he came to Bruce.

“Small peaches means they’re watery,” Clint picked up a medium sized peach before smelling it, “watery means no good peach taste.”

“No, there’s plenty of peach taste,” Bruce took off his glasses, putting them into his shirt pocket, “Being as they’re, you know, peaches.”

“What about the ones on the bottom?” Clint asked before going to the bottom of the crate.

“Oh, great. Be sure to check them all.” Bruce walked over next to Clint, “Make sure you give every last one a nice big squeeze, you wouldn’t want to leave me any that I could actually sell to somebody else.”

Clint ignored Bruce’s raving as he picked out some more peaches. Tony walked in through the kitchen’s swinging door.

“Wow,” Clint looked up from the crate, “Someone’s looking snazzy.”

“Don’t I always?” Tony smirked, “Good morning, Bruce.”

“Today was Peter’s first day, how was it?” Clint smiled, grabbing a peach from the crate.

“Ugh, I’ll tell you about it later, right now I just want to forget about it.”

Clint handed Tony a peach, “Then try this.”

Tony took a small bite before looking to Clint, “A little watery.” Clint turned and gave Bruce a pointed look that seemed to say ‘told you so.’

“Oh now come on, you planned this.” Bruce was getting exasperated.

“How was Peter this morning?” Clint asked, ignoring Bruce’s plea.

“He was so excited, and he looked great in his uniform.” Tony smiled, the one thing in his life that was always good was ranting and raving about his wonderful son, “I admire him so much jumping into that tough school like this.”

“There’s a phone call for you, Tony.” Phil walked into the kitchen, “And if I have to fetch you like a dog I’d like a cookie and a raise.”

Tony rolled his eyes, heading out to the front desk of the inn.

Picking up the phone Tony cringed, “Mom, what can I do for you?” As though his mother hadn’t taken up enough of his time today.

“I wanted you to know that I just bought a parking space for Peter at Chilton.” Maria informed, he could hear the glee on her face.

“You what?”

“They are very hard to come by, but I pulled a few strings and it’s all his.”  
“Mom, Peter doesn’t have a car.”

“No, but he’s got a birthday coming up soon.” Maria seemed absolutely smug.

Tony put his head in his hands, leaning against the front desk, “Mom, you are not buying Peter a car.”

“Why not? He’s a smart boy, he’s responsible.” Maria was taking this more as a suggestion than a no.

“He doesn’t need one.”

“He needs to have a way to get around, to get to school.”

“He’ll be taking the bus.” Tony supplied, not going to give any pull on this one. A coat was one thing but a car was not happening.

“I know. I hate that he takes the bus. Drug dealers take the bus.” Maria said solemnly.

“You know what, mom? I gotta go.”

“Fine. We’ll discuss this at a later date.” Maria definitely wasn’t letting the car thing go.

“Okay, bye.” Tony hung up.

-

Tony had just hung up with a guest scheduling a large wedding party when Phil had come over to him, “Someone is here to see you.”

“It’s not my mother is it?” 

“Anything’s possible.” Phil said dryly.

Heading over to the front desk, Tony say the same man that had given them directions at Chilton, Ian McCall. Walking over, Tony smiled at the man.  
“Hi. Is this a bad time?” Ian asked.

“No, not at all. What are you doing here?”

“Well, I had to meet a business associate for lunch and he was coming in from New York,” The man gestured to the lobby, “So I thought, “Why not meet him in a beautiful Inn?”

“Well, good. I hope you enjoy your lunch.”

“Thank you, I’m sure I will.” Ian paused, “I was also wondering if maybe I could take you out to dinner sometime.”

“We’re a little food-obsessed aren’t we?” Tony joked, not sure how he should be reacting to being asked out by a dad from Peter’s brand new school.

“Well, it’s the company more than the food that interests me.” God, this man could smile. Is this what all-upscale business men were like? Charming and snappy?

“I’m flattered.”

“Is that a yes?”

“Well… you’re a dad.” Tony said, knowing that it didn’t come out right.

“And so are you, though I’m still finding that very hard to believe.”

“No, it’s just that, you’re a Chilton dad.” Tony explained farther, trying to make the man understand that it wasn’t him.

“That sounds bad.”

“Not bad, just tricky.” Tony elaborated, “You know, Peter just started there, and I think I should let him fall in with the bad crowd before I start hooking up with the PTA.”

“Well, I’m not on the PTA.”

“Well, there you go, I can’t date anybody not on the PTA.” Tony sighed as he walked back behind the front desk, “I am sorry.”

“Tell you what,” this guy wasn’t gonna give it up, at least Tony could respect that, “I’m going to China for a week on business, and when I get back, I’m gonna try again.”

“China. Wow.” This guy was smooth, god damn.

“Impressed?”

“No, Rome I’d be impressed. China is just “China. Wow.”” Tony smiled, hoping he wasn’t coming off as a jerk.

“Okay, well. Tony Stark,” Ian picked up one of Tony’s business cards in front of him on the desk, “Executive Manager. I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Have a safe trip.” Tony smiled, as the man walked away.

-

Tony walked into the Stars & Stripes Diner, shutting the door behind him just in time to hear Steve say, “What are you doing here?”

Sitting at the counter, Tony furrowed his brow, “Is that any way to talk to a paying customer?”

“I just mean that you’re not usually in here at this time.” Steve answered.

“I have to pick Peter up at Chilton.” Tony explained as Steve started pouring coffee into the mug that was placed in front of him, “What no lectures?”

“My blood sugar’s low, I’ll eat an apple and then get back to you.”

Taking a long sip of the coffee, Tony sighed, “God, this has been one hectic bizzaro day for me.”

“Yeah? Crazier than it was when you came in here this morning saying the same thing?” Steve smiled as he opened the cash register to put a tip into the draw that someone had left him on the table.

“Yeah between this crazy wedding party getting set up at the inn, and my mother existing.” Tony took another sip of coffee, “And that dad from Chilton this morning. He drove all the way out to the Inn from Chilton just to ask me out.”

Steve tried not looking up from his register, “Really? You going?”

“No, the guy has a kid in Peter’s school and the whole thing just seemed a little weird to me.” Tony explained, grabbing some creamer to pour into his drink.

“Well, good.”

“Good?” Tony looked up to Steve confused.

“Yeah, I think it’s good that you turned him down. The guy was probably old.” Steve continued, turning to grab something from the back counter.

“Old?”

“Well yeah, he has a kid in high school.”

“And so do I.” Tony smiled, liking the familiar back and forth between him and Steve.

“Yeah but you’re different. Most people when they have kids they’re not young.” Steve got the coffee maker going on making a new batch.

“They’re old.” Tony nodded.

“Yeah.”

“Like the guy who asked me out.”

“But you’re not going.” Steve asked again.

“No,” Tony couldn’t help the grin on his face, “I’m not going.”

When Tony’s phone alarm went off, Steve turned and pointed to the sign that read “No cellphones” and Tony scoffed at him.

“It’s my alarm telling me I gotta pick up Peter.” Tony explained, “I’ll see you later.”  
Tony pulled out his wallet, ready to throw down a dollar for his cup of coffee.

“Keep it,” Steve explained, carrying a plate with a sandwich on it over to a customer at the table by the door, “I gave you decaf.”

Tony smiled as he got up and got ready to pick up Peter.

-

Heading out to the parking lot, Peter ran into Harry again while on his way to his locker, “Hey there Peter.”

“Hi, Harry. I’ll see you tomorrow?” Peter said, getting all of the books and extra notes he needed out of his locker, stuffing them into his book bag making it instantly feel 100 pound heavier.

“Yeah, I was actually wondering,” Peter turned away from his locker, shutting it, just to see Harry right behind him, now backing Peter against the locker wall, “Maybe, since you’re behind and all, you’d want to study together.”

Harry was just a touch taller than Peter, probably just by an inch or two, but he could definitely feel the difference as he was being backed into a corner. He didn’t know if the guy was intimidating him or hitting on him. Especially when Harry put one hand up on the locker next to Peter, trapping him in on the left side.

“Ugh, well,” Peter didn’t know how exactly he’d gotten into this situation but he was having trouble making his tongue cooperate, “I’ve always viewed studying as a solitary activity.”

“Whatever you say, Peter.” Harry smiled, leaning away from him, “I’ll get you my notes after that test tomorrow.”

“Ugh, thanks.” Peter blinked a few times before heading out to the parking lot, his 50-pound backpack in tow.

“Hey kiddo.” Tony was sitting in the front seat of the Jeep as Peter spotted him, “how was your day?”

“Ugh!” Peter groaned as he opened the back door, dropping his backpack on the floor behind the passenger seat, slamming the door shut. Hearing the thud on the ground Tony looked back at the huge back.

“Do they expect you to get smart all in one day?” He tried joking.

“Chilton expects a lot of things.”

“It’s alright, I had a rough day too.” Tony tried to smile as Peter climbed into the passenger seat.

“God this school is so weird, even the guys are bizarre.” Peter exclaimed.

“Weirder than other guys?” Tony asked, handing Peter a cup of coffee he had stopped along the way to get for him, making sure to get an extra shot of espresso.

“Yeah this one guy, offers me his notes to study from then on my way here he backed me up against the lockers.” Peter explained, pausing to take a sip of coffee.

“Was he bullying you?” Tony stopped, making sure to look at Peter, to see if he was hurt at all.

“He asked if I wanted to study with him.” Peter explained while putting on his seatbelt.

“He was flirting with you?” Tony asked, putting the car into drive.

“Is asking to study considered flirting for smart people? He’s apparently the top of the class.” Peter fidgeted with the lid of the coffee to-go cup, not knowing how he felt about such a long and crazy 8-hours. Class after class seemed to get more difficult.

“It’s possible, anything’s possible.” Tony answered, “It’s good that you at least seemed to make a friend though right?”

“Yeah, I guess it is.”

-

Walking through the town square, Tony had treated Wanda and Peter to some pizza for dinner, eating as they walked and talked.

“It was so weird not having you at school today,” Wanda said as she picked at her pizza crust, “I mean, I finally noticed some of the other kids and let me just say, they are sad lot.”

“Add a couple of plaid skirts and blazer jackets and you have the Chilton freaks.” Peter explained before taking a bite of his pepperoni slice.

“I totally missed you.” Wanda confessed. Her and Peter had been best friends since kindergarten. It was weird not spending a lot of time with him in between classes.

“I missed you.” Peter agreed.

“You guys, I have an idea.” Tony cut in, “What about on Tuesdays and Thursdays, you know, when I go into town for my business class, what if Wanda comes along, and you guys can chop and study, join a cult, shave your heads, explore new drugs.”

“Wait really?” Wanda asked, getting excited.

“All except the “ shaving your heads” part yeah.”

“Oh, no. What time is it?” Wanda asked.

“About 6:30.” Peter said, reading his watch.

“I’m late for dinner.” Wanda said, stuffing the last of her pizza crust into her mouth.

 

“Again? Wanda, you dad is gonna kill me if I keep sending you home fed and happy.”  
Tony exclaimed, he never liked being on the end of an Erik lecture.

“I’m sorry,” Wanda said, as she took off the hoodie she borrowed from Peter, a Nirvana logo on the front, to reveal a plain button up top, “but he started this new diet to try and keep us healthier. He still hasn’t discovered the candy under the floorboards in Pietro’s room.”

“Yeah just don’t let him find all those CDs you’ve been hiding from him.” Tony said, after all, half of those were his.

“I won’t, he doesn’t even know about the floorboards.” Wanda exclaimed as she turned to head home, “See you tomorrow!”

“Bye.” Both Peter and Tony said, continuing to walk home.

Walking quietly, Peter finished the last of his slice.

“Pizza for your thoughts?” Tony held out what was left of his piece, offering it to Peter. 

“I’m just worried about catching up with my school work.” Peter said, picking at the pizza crust.

“Awe kid, you’ll figure it out, and you know I’ll be there to help you.” Tony said, though he knew it wouldn’t be much comfort. When he had dropped out to take care of Peter he was only able to get his GED, which really was a breeze after his Chilton education, “And that Headmistress seemed nice, I’m sure if you’re having any issues you’d be able to talk with her right?”

“Yeah I guess so.”

“Don’t let it get you down Peter, no one’s expecting miracles out of you, just that you do your best.”

When that didn’t seem to make Peter feel any better, Tony continued, “You want me to talk to anybody? A teacher, a counselor? Call Hawking see if he’s got the spare time to tutor?”

“I’ll just figure it out for myself.” Peter laughed.

The two began walking passed Steve’s diner, looking inside the window, Tony stopped Peter for a second, “Hey, what do you think of Steve?”

Looking into the window to see Steve wiping down tables for the night, Peter paused, “What do you mean?”

“I mean, do you think he’s cute?” Tony continued.

“Oh no. No way.” Peter said, getting ready to walk away.

“No way what?” Tony asked, turning to face his son.

“You cannot date Steve.” Peter put his arm around his dad, guiding him away from the diner.

“I said nothing about dating Steve.”

“If you date him, you’ll break up and we’ll never be able to eat there again.” Peter continued.

“Again, I said nothing about dating Steve.”

As the two of them continued walking down the sidewalk, they just missed Steve open the door to the diner, flipping the open sign around to read closed for the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please tell me what you think, this chapter is more setting up really than any real drama or action, but there's plenty more on the way and I already have it written.
> 
> Any ideas, concerns, or criticisms please leave in the comments, I really appreciate them and use them as a motivator to keep going.


	3. Blueberry Shortcake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When she hears that Peter needs to learn a team sport for school she makes Howard take him to the Country Club and teach him golf. While it begins with a rocky start, the two start bonding and enjoying their time together. Tony battles his own jealousy when he hears about how great a time it was. While Tony has his hands full with a double wedding ceremony at the Inn, Clint and Bruce are at each others throats over the strawberries for the cake.

“Dinner was lovely, Maria.” Howard announced from the head of the dining table.

It was only their second Friday night dinner and already Tony could feel a little bit less tension than the first, hoping that maybe they just needed to break the ice.

“Thank you Howard,” Maria beamed, “Mira does make a perfect cassoulet.” 

“Who’s Mira?” Tony asked, placing his glass of water back onto the table.

“Our cook.” Maria said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“I thought the cook was Heidi.” Tony shook his head, looking to Peter.

“Oh no, we let Heidi go months ago.” Maria looked frustrated, “She had a problem closing things. The door, the refrigerator…”

“The liquor bottle.” Howard cut in.

Tony tried to conceal his chuckle.

“Then it was Sophia,” Maria started counting off on her fingers.

“Now I liked Sophia.” Howard interrupted again.

“You did not.” Maria almost laughed, smiling at her husband.

“I didn’t?” Howard asked confused.

“She was the one who sang.” Maria explained.

“Oh yeah, she was terrible.”

“And then after Sophia we had Anton.” Maria continued on about the maids. Ever since Tony was a boy, Maria couldn’t find a single maid that she ever liked enough to keep around for more than a few weeks.

“That’s right, Anton was the one that I liked.”

Tony shook his head, “I’m sorry, Dad? How do you mix up Anton and Sophia?” 

Howard seemed confused by Tony’s question, “What do you mean?”

Tony elaborated, “One is a man, and one is a woman.”

“And your point being?” Howard asked again, not seeing what Tony was getting at.

“That one is a man and one is a woman.” Tony reiterated. 

“I have a lot to do in a day, Anthony,” Howard leaned on the table, taking on a serious tone, “I don’t have time to keep up with the multitudes of people you mother employs.”

“But one is a man, and one is a woman.” Tony crossed his arms, saying again that there is no way his father can be so oblivious.

Peter sighed, taking a sip of his water.

Before anything else could be said, the maid brought out dessert, a well-decorated cake with a chocolate frosting. As she placed the dessert on the table, Tony said, “The dinner was wonderful Mira.”

The maid straightened up, “It’s Sarah.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry Sarah.” Tony apologized as the woman turned to go back into the kitchen. Leaning over to his mother, “Mom, her name is Sarah.”

“Oh, I thought she said Mira.” Maria said as Tony put his head in his hands.

Peter, trying to break the tension, “These plates are very pretty grandma.”

“Thank you, Peter.” Maria smiled brightly, “They were your great-grandmother’s. Maria the second.”

“I thought you were the first.” Peter asked.

“Not in the name, that would be my grandmother.” Maria said fondly, “She was an extremely accomplished equestrian, a distinguished patron of the arts, and she was also world-famous for her masquerade balls. She was quite a woman.”

Howard turned to Peter, “Your grandmother takes after her in many ways.”

Maria smiled to her husband as Sarah came back out of the kitchen to cut the cake.

“So, Anthony, how are things at that charming little inn of yours?” Maria asked.

“”Well, they’re still charming and little.” Tony took a sip of the coffee that Sarah poured to go with dessert, “We’re just crossing our fingers that it doesn’t assert itself and become rude and large.”

“Dad’s having a huge wedding there this week.” Peter added.

“Really?” Maria asked, turning to Tony for details.

“Yeah, actually. There are people coming from all over the country.” Tony said proudly.

“That sounds lovely. You must be keeping yourself busy then.”

“There’s never a day when the Inn isn’t busy.” Tony said brightly, proud of all the work he’s put into getting the Inn where it is today.

“Peter how’s Chilton?” Maria turned to her grandson.

“Okay, we’re done with me now.” Tony said, surprised by the sudden change of subject.

“Sorry, was there more to the story?” Maria asked.

Tony changed the subject again, “Peter needs to pick a team sport to play.”

Peter nodded, “It’s a requirement.”

Howard turned to Peter, “Physical fitness is equally important as intellectual fitness.”

“What sport are you going to pick?” Maria asked.

“Oh, I’m not sure yet.” Peter confessed, “I’m not really the athletic type.”

“I told him he should go out for the debating team.” Tony said smugly.

“That’s not a sport.” Peter argued.

“It is the way the Stark’s play.” Tony smiled, turning to his Mother.

“So what are your choices?” Maria asked, ignoring her son.

“God, there’s like, a thousand of them,” Peter said, beginning to list some of them off, “Basketball, lacrosse, swimming, track, golf.”

“Golf?” Maria cut in.

“Yeah.” Peter nodded.

“Your grandfather is a golf player.” Maria looked across the table to her husband, “He plays every week at the club. He could teach you how to play like a pro. Why he could take you there on Sunday.”

“Oops.” Tony muttered under his breath.

“Golf isn’t something you can teach in an afternoon, Maria.” Howard said.

“That’s okay, Peter can pick something else.” Tony tried cutting in.

“Why should he pick something else? He needs to learn a sport, and Howard can teach him a sport.” Maria insisted, “You can use your father’s old golf clubs. They’re upstairs gathering dust along with the rest of his potential.”

“Okay, mom,” Tony took the napkin off of his lap, putting it onto the table, “Could I maybe talk to you for a minute?”

“We’re having dessert Anthony.” Maria tries to stop him.

“I know, but I’d like to just talk to you fast for a minute before the sugar sets in and makes me crazy.”

Following Tony out of the room, Maria asks, “What’s so important that it can’t wait for cake?”

Tony motions for her to keep moving into sitting room, across the hall from the dining room, “Keep moving.”

Walking into the sitting area, Maria rolls her eyes, “This is as far as I can go, unless you’d like me to bore my way through the wall.”

“Don’t do this mom.” Tony said, his tone serious and no nonsense.

“Do what, Anthony?” Maria crossed her arms.

“Force Peter and dad to go golfing?”

“I’m not forcing anyone.” She says innocently.

“Well, you’re manipulating the situation in a way that gives no one a way out. That’s force. Look it up.” Tony stated, matter-of-factly.

“I’m just trying to help your son get an education.”

“Thank you, he’ll find another sport.”

“Why should he?” Maria asked, not understanding why Tony wouldn’t want Peter spending time with his grandfather.

“Because he doesn’t want to go and dad doesn’t want to take him.” Tony argued, remembering all the last minute changes to plans that Howard made when he was younger just to get out of spending time with him.

“Oh please, your father doesn’t know what he wants.” Maria rolled her eyes, “He’d get his hair cut at the butcher if I let him.”

“Just let it go, please.” Tony asked.

“Well, isn’t this interesting.” Maria seemed smug as Tony started to walk back towards the dining room, “You’re afraid.” 

“Of what?” Tony asked, turning back to his mother.

“That Peter will enjoy the club and have a good time without you.” Maria said, her arms still crossed and smug.

“That’s crazy.” Tony said, not letting his mom get to him.

“I agree.”

“I’m not afraid.”

“Then let him go.” God his mother was good; Natasha should take lessons from this woman.

“He won’t enjoy it, mom.”

“Why don’t we just let Peter decide for himself then.”

“Because Peter is the sweetest kid in the entire world and he won’t tell you that he doesn’t want to go because he’s too afraid of hurting your feelings.” Tony explained, knowing exactly how his son works.

“Oh I’m sure you can give him some coaching to get him over that.” Ouch.

“I’m not trying to hurt your feelings mom, believe it or not. This isn’t about you.”

“Of course it’s about me,” she insists, her head held high, “If Peter goes and has a good time without you, then that means I’ve won.”

“Okay, Bob Barker.” Tony says sarcastically, “Listen, Peter knocks himself out all week at Chilton. The weekends are the only time he has to unwind and have fun.”

“With you.”

“I’m there.”

“So let me get this straight,” Maria walks over to one of the arm chairs in the sitting room, taking a seat as she reiterates, “There’s no way that Peter could ever possibly enjoy a weekend day with his grandfather.”

“You’re just gonna twist it all around, aren’t you.”

“You know your son so well, that you don’t even have to ask his opinion of course,”   
Maria gestures lightly to the dining room, “He’d be miserable and you know it.”

“I’m setting myself up for this one and I know it,” Tony shook his head, “But yes, he would be miserable.”

“That sounds a little controlling to me.”

“Yeah, I walked right into that.” Tony laughed to himself.

“Interesting, isn’t it” Maria put her hands on her knee, one leg pristinely crossed over the other, “You being the one who’s controlling. According to you, I was the only one in the family with that particular gift.”

“Mom I never said,”

Maria cut him off, “I guess you and I are more alike than you thought.”

Tony held his hands up in defense, “Fine, you win.”

Maria smiled smugly, “Thank you.” Then she stood up, and walked back into the   
dining room.

-

Shutting the front door to Stark Manor behind them, Tony turned to Peter softly saying, “Awe man, did you get blindsided? I’m sorry.”

“That’s okay.” Peter said, stuffing his hands into his coat pockets.

“I tried to stop it I swear.”

“I know,” Peter started, starting the walk to the car, “Maybe it won’t be that bad.”

“Maybe it wont.” Tony nodded.

“Maybe I’ll like it.”

“Maybe you will.” Tony started chuckling.

“Maybe you could come with me.” Peter asked, hopeful.

Stopping and turning to his son, “Peter, I love you. I’d take a bullet for you. But I’d rather stick my finger in a light socket than go to the club with you.”

“Fine.” Peter gave up, turning towards the car.

“I’d rather slide down a banister of razor blades and land in a pool of alcohol than go to the club with you.” Tony continued, starting to make himself laugh.

“I got it.”

“Don’t stop me, I’m on a roll.” Tony stopped Peter in between laughs, “I’d rather eat my own hand than go to the club with you. Oh! I’d rather get my face surgically altered to look like that lunatic rich lady with the lion head than go to the club with you.”

“Would you like me to drive so you can keep going?” Peter held out his hand for the keys.

“Would you? Thanks.” Tony put the keys into his hand.

“I’d rather, cut off my own head and use it as a punch bowl, than go to the club with you.” Tony might be a little bit drunk from the wine at dinner.

-

Sunday morning, Tony was walking through the grounds of the Independence Inn with two young women and their mother, “You’ll walk down here, over the bridge with the swans floating by in the pond below and the music will be playing.”

“What are they doing with those purple flowers?” One of the girls interrupted him, pointing to the decorating team working on placing purple flowers, lace, and tulle around the grounds where the wedding and reception will be taking place.

“Oh, just decorating the bridge.” Tony explained.

The girl continued, “I didn’t want purple flowers, I wanted pink.”

Her twin sister next to her cut in, “And I wanted blue.”

“So I thought purple would be a nice compromise.” Tony smiled, hoping to keep the storm from erupting in his face with these two bratty brides.

“But we paid for pink flowers.”

“And blue flowers.” They both stopped short on the bridge, not moving another step.

They’re mother turned to face the both of them, standing next to Tony, “You did not pay for anything. I told him to decorate with purple flowers.” Gesturing to Tony with a softer tone in her voice, “And while it’s very nice of him to try and take the heat for me it’s certainly not necessary.” Taking a sharper, angry tone with her daughters, the woman went on, “If you don’t like it, buy your own flowers.”

When both young women looked down, not saying a word, their mother continued, “Yes, I thought so. Now, go away. My advil is wearing off.”

When both young women continued their walk across the footbridge towards the rest of the reception area, their mother stood next to Tony telling him, “Their Father’s spoiled them.”

“Oh they’re just excited.” Tony tried to keep a smile on, being polite.

“They’re spoiled…” She insisted, “And they won’t move away.”

Turning to walk back to where they came, Tony and the brides’ mother walked up the stairs towards the Inn when she asked, “So disaster list, what if it rains?”

“We’ll put up tents.” Tony answered quickly.

“What if it’s too windy?”

“We’ll secure everything and put extra hairspray in everybody’s hair.” Tony’s been down the list a million times.

“Too hot?”

“We’ll use umbrellas and fans that won’t cause any damage because of the things that have been secured and the hair that has been sprayed.”

Pausing at the top of the stairs, the woman turned to Tony, “So, I have nothing to worry about?”

“Nope.”

“Oh there must be something.”

“Listen, I have everything under control.” Tony smiled, hoping his charms would help calm her down, “Why don’t you go up to your room and have a relaxing bubble bath and I’ll send up some wine and a masseuse who bears a remarkable resemblance to Antonia Banderas.”

The woman smiled before asking, “How remarkable?” 

Tony leaned in a little, “Be ready to applaud.”

With an excited lilt in her voice the woman smiles, “this is my favorite place in the whole world.”

Tony smiled as he escorted her into the main building. Damn he’s good.

-

Walking into the lobby and behind the front desk, Tony looked to Phil who was handing a couple a large gift basket off the counter before turning to the young man behind the counter, “Could you send Chris up to room 12 in about 20 minutes? Thanks” The boy nodded before heading out.

Turning to Phil, Tony asked, “Any problems?”

“Do you stage these events just to torture me?” Phil asked.

“Yes.”

“Job well done.”

“Okay, let’s start again. Any problems?”

“Guests are checked in, baskets are given out, and 200 thousand tons of Jordan Almonds have been delivered.” Phil explained.

“Okay, good. Did Peter call?” 

“No.”

“Hm. Okay, let me know the second he does, I’m expecting a big save me call to come in.” Seeing that Phil wasn’t looking up from the papers in front of him, Tony stopped, “And you don’t care at all do you.”

“No.”

“Fine. Have the grooms arrived? Their plane was supposed to get in at 7:30. I’m surprised they’re not here by now.” Tony asked. They were the only members of the wedding party that hadn’t checked in yet.

“Maybe they made a run for it.” Phil said, as dry as ever.

“Oooh, someone got stood up at the prom.” Tony smirked, going through his checklist of things still needing to be taken care of for the wedding.

Phil looked up, ready to make a comeback remark when two people walked into the front doors of the Inn. “Oh. My.”

“What?” Tony looked up to see two young men, twins, walking in with luggage in hand.

“Are those?” Phil asked.

“No. It would be too…” Tony paused as the brides ran up to hug the two young men, hugging and kissing one another, “weird.”

“You kept this from me on purpose.”

Tony chuckled, “It’s like a really snooty Doublemint commercial.”

Phil turned to head towards the back, away from the front desk, “Call me when the circus tents and clowns arrive.”

“Whoa, whoa,” Tony grabbed his arm, “You have to get them all settled in.”

“I’m not talking to them.”

“Yes, you are.” Tony turned him to face the lobby.

“Well I’m not talking to them nicely.” Tony pat Phil on the back, pushing him towards the happy couples.

-

“He should be here by now it’s already past 8.” Howard said, bringing his golf bag towards the front door of the Stark home.

“He’ll be here.” Maria said, inspecting Tony’s old golf clubs, in their own pristine white leather bag.

“You’re meant to tee off at your designated time.” Howard continued, making sure he had all he needed tucked away into his bag.

“You pay good money to that club, you’ll tee off when you tee off.” Maria insisted, turning to face her husband, “Is that what you’re wearing?”

“Yes.” Howard said indignantly.

“Hmm.” Maria huffed, disapprovingly.

“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” Howard demanded.

“Nothing. It’s fine.” Maria held up her hands in surrender, before turning back to Tony’s old clubs.

“This whole thing is absurd.”

“He’s your grandson, Howard, the only one you’ve got.” Maria tried explaining again, for the hundredth time it felt like.

“He’s a 16-year-old who would rather be at the mall or taking out a girl on a date.”

“Show him all around the club, especially the library.” Maria insisted, showing that she wasn’t paying attention to his concerns; turning to him to make sure he was listening to her instead.

“I am not a guide.” Howard said, putting on his golfing glove.

“And be sure to take him to lunch, and have him get dessert.” Maria continued on, not listening.

“No one said anything about lunch.”

“Oh I hope Anthony’s clubs are still in good shape.” Maria pulled off the cloth cover to one of the clubs, inspecting it.

“Maria, you are not listening to me.” Howard tried again to get her to listen, “I will teach him to golf, as promised, by you. But lunch, is out of the question.”

Maria looked up at her husband, a thoroughly unimpressed look on her face, “You have to eat.”

“Yes, but,” Maria cut him off.

“So, you’ll eat together.” Maria moved on to the next subject, “Do you have sunscreen?”

Before Howard could protest, the door bell rang.

“He’s here,” Maria smiled.

Howard looked at his watch, “Oh, 8:30, we must remember to buy him a watch.”

Before opening the door, Maria turned to her husband, “Howard, so help me god, you will be sweet to this boy and make this a memorable day for him. This is the first time we’ve gotten to show our grandson off at the club, and it means a great deal to my happiness,” she made a pointed glare at Howard before continuing, “and yours, that this day go well. Are we clear?”

Howard nodded before Maria turned and opened the front door.

“Peter, hello.” Maria opened the door, letting Peter inside.

“Hi grandma,” As Peter walked inside, he greeted Howard as well, “Hi Grandpa. Sorry I’m late.”

“Nonsense, you’re right on time.” Maria smiled.

“Peter, nice to see you.” Howard smiled.

“This is a perfect day for golfing, I’m sure the two of you will have a wonderful time today.” Maria smiled.

“Am I dressed okay? I wasn’t sure what would be appropriate for the club.” Peter asked, turning to his grandma.

She looked him up and down and he was cleanly dressed in khakis and a tucked in button down shirt, “Actually, there is something missing. Oh, wait a minute.” Maria turned and opened a small shopping bag she had on the end table by the door.

Turning to Peter, Maria pulled out a tweed and wool dark grey cap, that Peter swears she stole off the cast of Newsies, and placed it on his head. “There you go, now you look just like Tiger Woods.”

Peter looked into the mirror in the foyer, “Wow, that’s some hat.”

“Okay, off you go, you two. Have a wonderful time.” Maria smiled, urging them out the door.

“We will.” Peter picked up the golf bag, ready to bring it out to the car.

“You bet.” Howard, picked up his own bag, bringing it to the door after Peter. Before walking out, Maria gave him another glare before he walked past her and out towards the driveway.

-

Walking across the green lawn of the country club, Peter and Howard were followed by two caddies, each one carrying one of their bags.

“Is it hard to become a member here?” Peter turned to his grandfather and asked, hoping to not have too many awkward silences.

“Everyone has to go through a thorough screening process.” Howard answered.

“Kind of like the FBI?” Peter asked, hoping he didn’t sound too naïve.

“Oh, we’re much more thorough than that.” Howard answered, seriously.

“Wow.” Peter couldn’t help but to smile a bit, hoping his grandpa didn’t notice it.

“Did you know, the merger of Forscape and D.S.S. right here on this lawn?” Howard continued.

“Really?” Peter asked, not seeing how golf could effect two major corporations mergers.

“International finance will never be the same, and all because of a lost golfing bet.” Howard answered, as though it were obvious.

“That’s crazy.”

“Well, that’s high finance. If you know golf, then you can do business with the best of them.” The two continued walking until they reached the first tee off. “Here we are, now, what do you know about golf?”

“That, it’s a good walk spoiled?” Peter asked, hoping his joke wasn’t falling flat. But when his grandpa sighed he got the feeling it did.

Howard turned towards the two caddies, who had just put down the bags and pulled out the driver from Peter’s bag, taking it from the young man, Howard continued on, “Your driver is the most powerful club in your bag, and as such, it can be your most valuable asset or your greatest liability.”

Placing a golf ball onto the tee in the grass, Howard demonstrated how to hold the driver, “To wield it properly requires a precise combination of confidence and humility.”

“Confidence and humility got it.” Peter repeated as Howard handed him the club.

“There you are. That’s a pretty good natural grip.” Howard took a step back and explained farther, “Now, line the toe of your left foot up with the ball and drop your left shoulder.”

Peter did as he was told, following all of his grandfather’s instructions, “Now, you want to keep your left arm firm as you draw the club back, and swing it cleanly through the ball.”

Peter swung the club, and while the ball did veer off to the right a good bit, he did hit the ball and manage to send it a good distance.

Bringing the club back down, Peter couldn’t help but smile. Howard nodded, “Alright, that was a good first go, very natural.”

Maybe golfing wouldn’t be so bad.

-

Tony walked into the kitchen of the Inn, seeing Clint and Bruce at it again.

“These are blueberries, Bruce. I ordered strawberries.”

“I know you did, but they weren’t any good. So instead of selling you substandard strawberries, I brought you blueberries.”

“Well, Bruce,” Clint leaned onto the counter, “I need to make some strawberry shortcake for 200 people. I’m gonna need some freakin strawberries.”

“Well, use the blueberries.”

“Use the.” Clint stopped, “To make what? What am I gonna make with blueberries?”

“Blueberry shortcake.” Bruce shrugged, as though it was the easiest thing in the world.

“That doesn’t exist, Bruce. No one has ever made a blueberry shortcake.”

“Will you just take the blueberries?” Bruce pushed the box across the counter.

“I need to make strawberry shortcake. There’s no blueberries in a strawberry shortcake, Bruce.” Clint argues, pushing the box back.

Grabbing a cup of coffee and watching the two of them go at it, Tony took out his phone to check for any messages, half expecting at least a text from Peter by now.  
“Can I at least see these strawberries?” Clint asked, and Tony turned his attention back to the two of them.

“No.”

“How about a picture?” Clint tried again.

“No.”

“A snapchat?”

Bruce leaned back from the counter, “Just take the blueberries.”

Deciding to stop the fighting, Tony spoke up, “Hey Clint, can I take home some of this extra chocolate cake to Peter?” He gestured to a piece of cake from this morning’s taste testing, “He’s gonna need a treat later. He went golfing with my father at the country club.”

“Yikes.” Clint turned away from Bruce, ignoring the blueberries.

“The whole thing was masterminded by my mother of course, one minute we’re having a wonderfully terrible family dinner, and the next she’s manipulated my kid into spending his Sunday with my father.”

Opening the kitchen fridge, Tony took out the milk to put in his coffee before leaning on the counter next to Clint, who was still looking at the blueberries. “Ugh, I can’t talk about it anymore, tell me something happy.”

“I can’t make the strawberry shortcake.” Clint said angrily, throwing his dish towel onto the counter.

“Wow, you suck at this game.”

Phil entered the kitchen, getting Tony’s attention, “The war for soup versus salad is being waged in the lobby. Settle it before I kick them off of the premises.”

Tony groaned, putting his coffee down onto the counter before heading out. Walking into the lobby, he saw the mother of the brides standing next to the arguing girls, and he could almost see the vein popping on her forehead. Seeing Tony walk in, she walked over to him, Phil by his side.

“It’s been 45 minutes of soup or salad. Soup or salad. I can’t do it anymore.” The poor woman was obviously exasperated, “Get me a cab, I’m going far away and never coming back.”

“How about if the guests get a choice of soup or salad?” Tony asks.

“That…” The woman paused, “That will work.” She says, before turning back to the arguing girls.

When Clint came out of the kitchen and stood behind the two other men, Tony turned and told him, “Choice of soup or salad.”

“Got it.” Clint nodded, watching as the grooms walked over to the pair of girls.

“It’s so weird.” Tony said to the other two, making sure his voice was low.

“Which one is which?” Clint asked.

“I think the one on the right is Matt.” Tony answered, though he still wasn’t sure.

“No the one on the left is Matt,” Phil answered, “The one on the right is Mark.”

“That’s very impressive.” Tony nodded, not being able to tell either of the two sets of twins apart. 

“Well, I’m very good at observing people.” Phil’s lips turned up in a small smile, “You know, learning their tics and traits, the sound of their voices.”

“That one has a post-it on his back.” Clint pointed out.

“Oh well, then that’s Mark and the one on the right is Matt.” Phil corrected himself.

“You will go and take that off of him.” Tony said, not believing his concierge. 

“No I won’t. We can’t all call everyone “Sweetie” and get away with it.”

Tony rolled his eyes.

“Now go with me here, but let’s say Mark walks into a hotel room and he sees his wife naked, but it’s not his wife.” Clint starts, “It’s his naked sister-in-law and he has sex with her. Would that be cheating?”

Tony starts laughing. “I think no.”

“Really?” Clint smiles, “Lucky.”

“If you ask me, this union belongs on a public-access station.” Phil replies, “It’s against the laws of nature and just this short of completely obscene.”

“Well, you won’t be giving the wedding toast.” Tony nods.

Seeing the group of brides and grooms break up, Tony walks over to the mother.

“How’d everything work out?”

Sighing, the mother exclaims, “Do you have children?”

“Yes, a son.”

“Ah, do you hate him?” She asks.

“No.” Tony tries to stay smiling.

“Not ever?”

“Well, I’m sure his mother wasn’t wildly fond during labor.” Tony hopes she finds it funny as she walks towards the entrance to the Inn.

“That was the high point for me.” She declares before opening the front door and walking out, shutting it behind her.

-

“This place is so beautiful,” Peter confessed as he and his grandpa walked down the gravel road through the club’s lawn, “I could see just coming here to think or read. Though that probably defeats the purpose of the holes with the flags in them.”

“There is something rather serene about walking around here.” Howard agreed.

“Do you come here every week?”

“No. When I can.” Howard answered, his tone stuff, “I’m often working on the weekends.”

“Bummer.”

“Isn’t it?” Howard agreed, for all that he loved his work, it was rather time consuming.

“Can I ask you a question?” Peter asked.

“Go right ahead.” Howard confirmed, waving to a few older men driving buy on a golf cart.

“What do you do?”

“Well, I’m the Chief Executive Officer of Stark Industries.” Howard answered, surprised that his grandson wanted to know.

“And as Chief Executive Officer, what do you do?” Peter continued on his train of thought.

“Well, it’s a very big company, one of the largest in the United states as a matter of fact. We have many different branches which would bore you greatly to hear about.”

“Oh, okay.” Peter resigned.

Howard saw Peter turn away, looking out over to the small pond they were passing, “We have a lot of divisions; global aerospace, defense, security, and other advanced technologies. We employ thousands of individuals in over 30 countries world-wide.” Howard explained, not knowing where his grandson’s sudden interest came from, “Most of my time is spent in business meetings these days. Establishing contracts for our products and connections with the military.”

“You are also head of research and development, aren’t you?” Peter knew it would be hard to explain to his dad, but, in a lot of ways, Stark Industries was one of the only companies that would have a fully functioning and devoted lab for Peter to one day do his research on his particular field of study.

“Oh yes, though most of my time is spent out of labs and workshops nowadays, the new and important discoveries are being made by people younger than myself, like your mother.” Howard paused, “And someday, hopefully you if that’s what you study in school.”

“Biomechanical engineering actually.” Peter exclaimed.

Howard hummed approvingly, “A field with a lot of history but not a lot of advancement. Plenty of room for growth and research doing something like that. Any idea where you’d like to study?”

“MIT is my goal.” Peter admit, knowing that it’s where is father wanted to go.

“You know, I graduated from MIT myself.” Howard smiled, having no idea what lofty ambitions his son had raised his own child to have, “An education is one of the most important things to a young man. With it, you can go anywhere, do anything.”

“That’s what dad always told me.” Peter nodded; his dad had always shown him the importance of learning, but never put Peter under pressure to perform well.

“Well, he’s a very smart man, your father. He had a lot of potential.”

“He still does.” Peter answered dryly.

“What do you mean?” Howard asked, surprised at such a bold statement.

“He’s never stopped working with his hands.” Peter explained, thinking about all the work his dad does around town free of charge for others, “Even when I was little and he’d buy me toys, he’d make them better. Sometimes I think he bought them more for himself to have something to work on while he was bored. He’s also kind of the town handyman. The mechanic in town made him promise to stop fixing anyone’s cars except his own otherwise he’d go out of business.”

Howard almost wanted to mourn the loss of his dream, for his son to take over his company. But he had a feeling that if he played his cards right, he might get Peter to join him, “You know Peter, you’re always welcome to visit our New York office. I’d give you a tour of the facility, show you the things the research team are working on.”

“That would be great, grandpa.” Peter smiled up to his grandfather as they reached the end of the golf course.

“What do you say we grab some lunch then?” Howard offered.

“That sounds great.” 

Holding the door to the dining room open, Howard went in after his grandson, getting seated quickly by the hostess.

“Do you get to travel a lot too?” Peter asked, hoping to keep his grandpa talking about work.

“Oh yes, quite a bit actually.” Howard replied, taking a look at the menu.

“Lucky.”

“A bit of a thirst for adventure then?” Howard asked, seeing a lot of Tony in his grandson.

“Oh yeah, I want to see everything.” Peter smiled, he’d always wanted to see more than the small town he was raised, hoping to get a chance to go to Europe and Asia some day.

“Travelling is very important to do while you’re young, especially if you plan on being an inventor.” Howard exclaimed, handing his menu to the waitress that came around to their table, placing his order.

After Peter placed his own order, he asked, “Why especially for inventors?”

“Inventors seek to make the world a better place. How can you do that if you don’t know what’s wrong with it?” Howard answered profoundly, “The best discoveries are the ones that will change lives, and you remember that.”

“I will grandpa.”

“Your father never got a chance to travel very much.” Howard confessed, thinking again on all the missed opportunities his son has had.

“I know, he talks about it all the time.” Peter agrees.

“He does?”

“Mhm, we have a deal. Once I graduate high school the two of us are going to backpack around Europe together,” Peter gets excited about it every time he thinks about the exciting things they’ll get to see and do, “I just hope that it really happens.”

“We’ll just have to make sure that it does.” Howard smiled, happy to see that Tony was raising a smart young man. Not to mention that Tony was also providing a well thought out incentive for insuring that his own son finishes high school, like he never did.

-

Sitting in the diner, Peter was waiting for his dad to come meet him. Putting the hat his grandma gave him back on his head, Peter saw Steve come over and begin to fill up his coffee.

“Nice hat.” Steve joked.

“Thanks, I went golfing with my grandfather today.”

“Did you know that golf courses are an environmental blight because of all the chemicals they use to keep the grass green?” Steve asked, a serious tone in his voice.

“Actually I did.” Peter crossed his arms on the table, smirking up at the diner owner, who didn’t laugh at his lame humor, “Sorry, bad joke.”

Steve smirked down at the kid before moving on to the next table.

Tony came into the diner, a plate of saran-wrapped chocolate cake in hand, “God, this day, the soup, the twins, my head.” He started ranting as he sat down across from Peter before turning to Steve who was now heading behind the counter, “Steve, I need the largest cheeseburger in the world. Let’s break a record, Captain.”

Turning to his son, Tony keeps going, “So the wedding, is a nightmare. We got 10 boxes of these creepy larvae that are supposed to swarm into butterflies on the wedding day. But the swarmed a little early.” Finally pausing, Tony looks at the hat on Peter’s head, “What’s with the hat?”

“Grandma gave it to me.” Peter answered, putting down his cup of coffee.

“Oh, now that’s just mean.”

“It’s not that bad.” Peter insisted, pulling his coffee away from where his dad’s hand was reaching for it.

“Do you want a mirror?”

“I’m taking it off now.” Peter pulled the hat off, putting it on the table.

“So, Peter’s golfing adventure. Tell me about it.” Tony smiled, hoping to at least cheer up his son.

“It was fine.” Peter shrugged, not really seeing the big deal.

“Awe, I brought you some of Clint’s chocolate cake to make you feel better.” Tony said, gesturing to the plate.

“It really wasn’t that bad.” Peter tried again.

“God, you are the sweetest kid in the whole world. Where on Earth did you get that from?” Tony asked, surprised at how relaxed Peter was about it. Looking back to Steve behind the counter, Tony tried again, “Steve, am I mistaken, or does the sign on the door say ‘Open?’”

Steve sighed, heading into the kitchen.

“So, where were we?” Tony turned back to Peter.

“Me golfing.”

“Right. Go.”

“Okay. Well, I was able to hit the ball. Grandpa said I got a hang of it quickly enough, says I might be a natural.” Peter couldn’t help but be proud of himself, he was never the athletic kid.

“Hey, that’s great. Natural skill and no physical exertion whatsoever is what the game of golf was built on.” Tony smiled, happy to see Peter more relaxed than he’d been since starting Chilton, “So, did you order?”

“Oh, I’m not hungry. I had a big lunch at the club.” Peter said nonchalantly.

“With all the other devastators of our land.” Steve chimed in, pouring a cup of coffee for Tony.

“Steve, I’m really sorry. I didn’t know.” Peter tried to apologize.

Steve smiled at the two, nudging Peter’s shoulder playfully as he went to another table.

“You had a big lunch at the club?” Tony repeated Peter’s statement, not sure he understood.

“Yeah, it was actually pretty good.”

“Really?” Tony’s brow furrowed in confusion.

“Yeah. Why?” Peter asked, not sure why his dad was being weird about lunch.

“No, nothing.” Tony shook his head, “besides lunch, what else happened?” Tony asked, taking a sip of his coffee.

“Nothing really. We played, he asked me about what I wanted to do for college. And I took a steam.” Peter explained.

“You took a steam?” Tony asked, putting his coffee back down.

“Yeah, I sweated out all my toxins and I stole a towel.” Peter smiled.

“Wow, so it sounds like you really had a good time.” Tony asked, almost perplexed.

“I did.”

“Really?” He asked again, trying to make sure Peter wasn’t messing with him.

“Really.”

“Really?”

“Okay, new word now.” Peter tried breaking his dad out of his loop.

“Sorry, I’m just surprised.” Tony explained, “I thought you were gonna be bored out of your mind.”

“I was kind of surprised too.” Peter admit, “I don’t know, it was relaxing there and Grandpa and I talked a lot.”

“You talked? Really?” 

“You’re doing it again.”

“Sorry. You talked?” Tony rephrased.

“We talked about traveling.” Peter explained.

“And he told you it was frivolous.” Tony tried.

“I told him about our backpacking trip and he thought it was a great idea.”

“Wow, so you really had fun?” Tony asked, not sure why this made him feel so weird.  
“Yeah, I did.”

“That’s great.” Tony tried to smile sincerely as Steve put down his cheeseburger and fries in front of him, “That’s really, really great.”

Steve saw Tony not even acknowledge his food, “I thought you were starving.”

“Things change, move on.” Tony said dismissively as Steve rolled his eyes and put their check on the table.

“Does this hat really look bad on me?” Peter asked, putting the hat back on.

“No, I think it makes you look dapper.” Tony smiled.

-

Sitting at the front desk of the Inn, Peter was writing out placement cards, helping for the big wedding. Tony walked by on his way back from checking on the catering.

“Gosh you have good handwriting,” Tony said, commenting on the placement cards, “that, you definitely didn’t get from me. Your wonderful flair you got from me.”

“I also got my deviated septum from you.” Peter snarked, looking up at his dad.

“Hey, focus on the flair.”

Phil walked up, holding the phone out to Tony, “It’s for you. He says he’s your father. Though why he’d admit it I have no idea.”

“My father?” Tony asked. Howard has never called the Inn before.

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?” Tony asked again.

“Take the phone,” Phil held it out to him again, “Thank you.” 

Taking the phone from Phil, Tony rolled his eyes before holding it to his ear, “Dad?... Yes it’s Anthony, who else called you dad?”

Waiting a second to hear what he wanted, Tony was surprised to hear him ask for Peter, “Yeah, he’s right here, hold on a second.”

Holding the phone out to Peter, Tony explained, “It’s for you.”

“Thanks.” Peter grabbed the phone out of his Dad’s hand, taking it over to one of the couches in the Inn’s lobby. “Hello? Hi Grandpa.”

Tony grabbed his work portfolio, watching Peter on the phone talking easily with his grandfather. He couldn’t shake the feeling of something bad about to happen and he didn’t like it at all.

-

“Am I a total mental case?” Tony asked, walking down the sidewalk with Clint.

“No more than the rest of us.” Clint joked, not seeing why Tony was so worried.

“God, what is wrong with me?” Tony had been worrying all night about why he was so freaked out by Peter enjoying time with his grandparents. It really shouldn’t get him so worried, “He had fun, Clint. He had fun just like my mother said he would.”

“Seems that way.” Clint agreed.

“He should have fun right?” Tony asked, “I want him to have a good relationship with his grandparents. Just because I don’t doesn’t mean he shouldn’t right?”

“Well sure, they’re the only other family he has around.” Clint pointed out, knowing it must be tough growing up with only one parent around.

“Then I should let them get closer shouldn’t I?” Tony asked, trying to get advice on what the hell he should do.

“If that’s what Peter wants sure.” Clint added, looking into one of the shops on the street corner as they passed by.

“God, why does that make me feel sick.” Tony said, exasperated at what the hell he should do.

“You’re jealous.” Clint said bluntly.

“I’m not jealous.” Tony said back, maybe a bit too quickly.

“Of course you are. You’re jealous because they like Peter better than they like you.” Clint continued being blunt and to the point.

“Well of course they like Peter better, who doesn’t? The kid practically wears a halo.” Tony said, smiling at how well liked his son was.

“Alright then it’s something else.”

“It’s just that I left that life, you know? The club, my parents, masquerade balls, and coattails. I ran from it as soon as I could.” Tony sighed, “I guess it never occurred to me that Peter might want that life. Sure as hell occurred to my mother though. God, I hate that she was right.”

“Then that’s what’s bothering you. You hate that your mom was right about something involving Peter. She proved you wrong.” Clint said, stopping in front of the market, seeing strawberries on display.

“I have to be more adult about this right?” Tony asked leaning against the fruit stand, “I mean, if the country club life is what he wants more power to him right? You know, golf course business meetings with a brandy and high tea with a pretty debutante, that makes some guys happy right?”

“Sure, yeah” Clint agreed, picking out the best strawberries in the bunch, only half listening to Tony, “If they’re making six-figures absolutely.”

“I just never thought that I raised that kind of kid.” Tony explained, watching Clint pick through the fruit, “Not that there’s anything wrong with that kind of kid, I just didn’t think that was Peter. Maybe it’s not. I don’t know. Am I obsessing? Clint?”  
When his friend didn’t answer Tony sighed, “Do I have to put on my giant strawberry costume to get your full attention?”

“No, I’m sorry.” Clint paused, leaning onto the display, “You have a strawberry costume?”  
Tony shook his head, smiling at his buddy.

“Unbelievable!” The two turned to see Bruce walking up to them.

“Bruce…I” Clint started before getting cut off.

“So, this is what we’ve come to,” Bruce gestured to the fruit, “You, sneaking around behind my back buying somebody else’s strawberries?”

“I was desperate!” Clint almost shouted.

“You disgust me.” Bruce said just as loud.

“I needed the strawberries!” Clint waved his arms at the fruit.

“Well, now you have them! I hope you two are happy together.” Bruce said before turning and walking away.

“Bruce, wait!” Clint started going after him, leaving Tony alone standing with the strawberries.

-

It was the day of the big wedding at the Inn and Tony had finished making his rounds as the reception was in full swing, making sure that everything was running smoothly. It all seemed to be going perfectly, just as it usually did when he was in charge.

Returning to the porch of the Inn, overlooking the happy guests, he leaned against the railing with a champagne flute in hand. The mother of the brides came over to him, a bright and most likely drunk smile on her face as she spoke.

“We did it.” She said, holding up her half empty champagne glass in a toast.

“We sure did,” Tony smiled, clinking his glass against hers, “I’m so glad everything turned out just how you wanted it.”

“Oh you have no idea,” The woman took another small, neat sip of her drink, “They just told me they’re sharing a condo in Tucson, Arizona. That’s hundreds of miles away.”

“Congratulations.” Tony smiled.

“Oh thank you,” the band began playing ‘We Are Family’ and the woman excitedly said, “Sister Sledge! Excuse me.” Before going to excitedly join the dance floor.

Tony couldn’t help but to shake his head and laugh, turning away from the party.   
Going over to the table where Peter was manning the guestbooks for the happy couples. Taking the empty seat next to him Tony asked, “You doin’ okay?”

Peter nodded, “Yeah, I’m alright.”

“Good, good.” Tony said, leaning onto the table. Sighing he finally just out and said it, “You know, I’m glad you’re bonding with your grandparents.”

“No you’re not.” Peter said, knowing that the whole thing was weirding out his dad.

“Yes, I am.” Tony insisted, “It’s just weird for me, is all. I can’t relate to it.” He tried explaining more.

“You could if you tried.” Peter tried again, his hands in his lap.

“No, we’re just too…” Tony paused, “Too much has happened. I’m glad you are anyway, bonding with them.”

“Okay.” Peter nodded.

“I never meant to cut you off from them completely,” Tony confessed, knowing that it hurt both Peter and his parents to separate them, “It just kind of happened. Not having them in my life just felt so right. I just never thought…I’m sorry.”

“I know. It’s okay.” Peter nodded again, “If it makes you feel better, I think I got a fungus from the steam room.”

“It does.” Tony smiled, nudging Peter’s shoulder with his own, “Thank you.”

-

Maria opened the front door, letting Tony and Peter into foyer, “Oh, good. You’re here.”

“Hi grandma.” Peter greeted, taking off his coat.

“Hey.” Tony came in, carrying a white pastry box with him.

“My goodness, what’s that?” Maria asked, taking the box from Tony as he handed it to her.

“We brought dessert.”

“Oh, how thoughtful. What is it?” Maria asked, opening the lid as they walked into the sitting room.

“Blueberry shortcake.”

“Oh I’ve never heard of blueberry shortcake.” Maria handed the box to the maid, letting her take it to the kitchen.

“She’s in a good mood tonight,” Tony whispered to Peter as they sat down.

“Can I get you a drink?” Maria asked, going to the bar cart.

“A dry martini would be great.” Tony supplied.

“Coke.” Peter added.

“So, Anthony, did Peter tell you all about the wonderful time he had at the club?” Maria asked as she got their drinks ready.

“He sure did.” Tony could feel the smugness radiating off of his mother.

“Your father was simply flying all week. He really charmed him.” Maria smiled to Peter, handing him his glass.

“Well if anybody could it would be him.” Tony smiled, knocking his shoulder into Peter playfully.

“In this age of cell phones and facebook, who would have imagined that a young man could still get a thrill spending a simple afternoon with his grandfather.”

“That martini would be real good right now, mom.” Tony forced himself to stay smiling.

“I think we should considering getting him a membership at the club, don’t you?” Maria asked, straining his drink from the shaker into the martini glass.

“If he wants sure.” Tony pretended not to notice Peter’s shoulders slumping, feeling bad for the “I told you so” rant his dad was getting.

“I mean, to have a place where he can socialize. That’s very important to a young man.” Maria handed Tony his drink.

“Well, now especially that the crack den has closed down on the corner, all his really good friends are gone.” Tony snarked, hoping it would make his mother stop the bragging for a minute. Though the comment just seemed to be getting him a stare, Tony continued, “What do you think, Mom, should I pursue the career in comedy or?”

Maria smiled, “It’s just very interesting the way things turn out, isn’t it?”  
Tony sighed as Howard walked in.

“Oh you’re here. Anthony.” Howard nodded to his son.

“Dad.”

“Peter,” Howard said, a bit more excitement in his voice, “I have a surprise. Not only did I find that copy of Mencken’s “Chrestomathy” we discussed over the phone, I also found a first edition of his memoirs as well.”

Tony tried not to feel hurt by the beaming grin on his son’s face, “You’re kidding.”

“It’s in my office if you’d like to take a look.” Howard gestured with a simple head nod towards his office, “Oh, my god, I totally would.” Peter excitedly said as he stood up, following his grandpa to his study.

“I’d like to take a look at those myself.” Maria added, following the pair, leaving Tony alone on the couch with his drink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a very sudden end but a lot happens in this chapter and I didn't want it to keep going on and on for too much longer. Please let me know any thoughts or ideas for the future, as always, comments are always much appreciated.


	4. The Magic Risotto

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter receives the first "D" of his life on a paper, pushing him to study endlessly for an upcoming test. Peter, afraid of what others might think, hides his grade until Tony finds out at a parent/teacher conference. Giving in, Peter finally asks for help from a fellow classmate. Meanwhile, Clint is obsessed with proving a point about his risotto after a famous food critic doesn't like it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys have been so wonderful leaving such incredibly sweet comments, you have no idea how appreciative I am. I hope you all enjoy, we're getting more and more into the drama and meat of the story every chapter.

“Good effort by most, exceptional effort by two,” Mr. Laufeyson explained as he handed back papers, “Mr. Osborn. Miss Bishop. Mr. Stark.” Mr. Laufeyson paused handing Peter his paper, “Take these home. Learn from your mistakes. Look at the large red circles around various parts of your paper as reminders that to err is human and it is my job to beat that humanity out of you.”

Peter looked down at his paper, seeing the D grade in bold red at the top. He’d never gotten anything less than an A before coming to Chilton.

“Next. The test.” Mr. Laufeyson continued on, “Shakespeare on Friday. This test will be multiple choice with an essay that will count for 20 percent of your grade this semester. Don’t be fooled by my kind face and charming personality. This test will be hard and there will be no makeups.”

As the bell rang, all of the students began packing up their belongings, Mr. Laufeyson spoke over the clatter, “Refer to the study material I gave you at the beginning of the month and those extensive notes that I’m sure only about three of you have been taking.”

Picking up his things, Peter sighed, heading out towards his locker to get his things for his next class.

“Hey, Peter wait up.” Peter turned to where he’d been called, seeing Harry catching up to him, “Killer paper huh?”

“Tell me about it.” Peter continued walking down the hall, Harry at his side, “How’d you do?”

“Oh, I got an “A”.” Harry said nonchalantly, as though he hadn’t just said it was difficult, “how ‘bout you?”

“Uh,” Peter turned to open his locker, Harry leaning next to it waiting for him, “not as great.”

“You know, my offer to help you study still stands.” Harry smiled, watching Peter pause at the offer, “especially for a test this big. Wouldn’t want to take any chances.”

“I’ll think about it.” Peter tried, he still wasn’t too sure about Harry. The guy made him nervous and he wasn’t sure why. He was friendly and charming and helpful and smart...Peter thinks he knows why Harry makes him nervous.

“Let me know, I’d love to be of service.” Harry smirked before heading out to his next class.

-

Tony was standing at the front desk when Phil dropped off a pile of mail at the corner. Tony, sorting through it found a magazine he’d been expecting for weeks. Taking it in hand, he made a b-line for the kitchen.

“Clint!” Tony started flipping through the pages.

“Hang on!” Clint said, putting some garnishing onto two plates that were about to be taken out to the dining hall.

“I’ve got it.”

“The review?” Clint wiped his hands on his apron, walking around the island counter towards Tony.

“It’s here.”

“Where, where? Come on.” Clint urged, his hands gesturing wildly.

“I’m looking.” Tony smiled, flipping through the pages quickly.

“Hurry.”

Both men looked up, stopping what they were doing to see Peter walk in, dropping his backpack onto the ground with a heavy thud.

“Behold, in theaters now, the thing that reads a lot.” Tony chuckled as Peter made his way over to a tall measuring cup filled with chocolate.

“Tony, look. Come on.” Clint redirected Tony’s attention.

“Right, sorry.” Tony flipped through until he found the page.

“Jeez, who’s naked?” Peter asked, bringing a stool and the chocolate over to sit next to wear his dad was reading.

“Sharon Carter, food critic.” Tony explained.

“Yeah, how’s her butt?” Peter asked.

“No, no, she’s was supposed to review the restaurant this,” Tony paused, “Oh, here it is!”

“Is it good? Is she a bitch?” Clint asked, taking a step back as Tony held it away from him, “Do I need to get my knives ready?”

“Here we go,” Tony looked down and started reading, “The words ‘divine,’ ‘delectable,’ and ‘delirious’ don’t begin to describe the delicious experience of dining at the Independence Inn.” Tony beamed at Clint, “I’m smelling a rave, Clint.”

“Come on, what else does she say?” Clint asked him to keep going.

Tony cleared his throat as he read on, “Only Chef Clint Barton could make a simple house salad of hothouse tomatoes and assorted fresh herbs seem like a religious experience. His lobster bisque is worth every sinful, cream-filled rich sip.”

“See, I don’t use that much cream. I just use a very concentrated lobster stock and it really makes it…” Clint tried going on before Tony stopped him, cutting him off in the middle of his sentence.

“Clint, she’s not here.”

“Right, go on.”

Tony looked back down to the magazine, picking up where he left off, “The entrees are as heavenly as the starters. Though the much-lauded risotto was perfectly fine, it was the simple handkerchief pasta with brown sage in a butter sauce that sent me through the roof.” Closing the magazine, Tony smacked Clint on the shoulder, “This is unbelievable. I’m gonna have this framed for the dining room!”

“Oh yeah. That’d be swell. Can I see that again?” Clint seemed all around less excited than he was a minute ago, taking the magazine away from Tony.

“Yeah,” Tony handed the magazine over, turning to Peter, “We should celebrate tonight huh? Move night?”

“I can’t,” Peter said, his mouth full of chocolate melting wafers, “I have to study.”

Leaning against the counter, Clint said glumly, “I should really get started on this new menu.”

“What is going on here? We are young guys with the world as our oyster.” Tony started saying exasperated by their lack of enthusiasm, “Where’s ‘to hell with it all?’ and ‘throwing caution to the wind’? Oh shoot, the wine delivery.” Tony remembered before turning head back out the door.

“You go, girl.” Peter said, stuffing more chocolate into his mouth.

-

Walking up to Wanda and Pietro’s house, Peter rang the doorbell, waiting for Erik to answer.

“Ah, hello Peter.” Erik greeted, letting Peter in.

“Good afternoon, sir.” Peter smiled, holding his heavy backpack onto his shoulder. He’d just come from his dad’s Inn after school and was here to study.

“Wanda is up in her room, you may go upstairs.”

“Thank you, sir.” Peter said, going upstairs, not making direct eye contact with the scary man.

Heading up the familiar hallway, Peter stopped for a second to look at the picture on the small end table at the top of the stairs. It was a photo of him and Wanda on their first day of first grade outside the school. Wanda was missing one of her big front teeth, it having just fallen out that morning.

Peter continued down the hall, knocking on the doorway to the open door on the left where Wanda was promised to be, “Knock, knock.”

“Hey, you’re late.” Wanda said, her legs crossed on her chair as she sat at her desk, her textbook in her lap with a thin rice cake in her hand.

“Sorry,” Peter put his bag down, pulling up a chair to sit at her desk with her, “What’s that?” He asked, gesturing to what she was eating.

“12 calories.” Wanda explained, dropping it onto the plate next to her.

“Here,” Peter pulled a snickers bar out of his bag, putting it on the desk.

“My god, bless you.” Wanda took the candy and started unwrapping it in her lap where her dad wouldn’t see if he walked by.

Peter opened his backpack farther, pulling out a massive binder and putting it on the table, “Man, what’s that?” Wanda asked, gesturing to it.

“My notes.” Peter explained, getting out his textbook.

“Really?” Wanda asked, not believing that so much paper would just be for notes from class.

“I don’t think Shakespeare even knew himself this well.” Peter groaned, opening his books.

Wanda rolled her eyes, pulling out her own notebook, placing the candy bar on the plate so that she wouldn’t get chocolate on her work.

“I really miss Stars Hollow High.” Peter confessed.

“You’re kidding right?” Wanda asked, she’d do anything to be out of that school and this town for even just a little while every day.

“No. Chilton’s just, I don’t know…” Peter paused, not sure if he should really say anything about how bad he’s doing in his new school, “It’s a lot harder.”

“What do you care?” Wanda asked, not sure that she understood, “You were always saying how easy everything was at school. This should be a snap for you.”

Erik chose then to walk past her bedroom, doing his routine check to make sure that the two of them had left her door wide open and were an appropriate distance apart, “What’s that?” Meaning the candy bar on Wanda’s plate.

“Oh that’s mine.” Peter said, picking up the snickers, going to take a bite out of it.  
“That is chocolate covered death.” Erik answered.

“With a creamy caramel center.” Peter smiled, as Erik shook his head and continued down the hall.

Continuing on with their conversation, Wanda explained, “This girl asked about you today.”

“What girl?” Peter asked, putting the candy bar back down.

“The new kid.” Wanda explained, breaking off a piece of the candy for herself, “Red-head, perfect.”

“What did she want to know?”

“Where you were.” Wanda explained, popping the chocolate into her mouth.

“And what did you tell her?” He asked, his pen nervously ticking against the pages of his textbook.

“That you were just too smart for us and that you just had to go to the genius school.”

“Oh.”

“She really liked that,” Wanda smirked, “I guess she’s into brainy guys.”

“Well I’ll keep my eyes open for one for her.” Peter said, looking back down to his notes, he couldn’t help but to think back to Harry.

-

Tony walked back into the kitchen of the Inn in his never ending search for coffee.  
“Clint, you got coffee for me?”

Clint, sitting at the counter nodded over to the coffee machine at the counter, “Fresh over there.”

“Oh perfect.” Tony went over to the machine, taking out the coffee pot to see old coffee grounds on the bottom and nothing else, “Yeah maybe fresh in my first life time as Napoleon.”

“Oh sorry, I thought I made fresh.” Clint came over, pouring water into the top of the machine.

“God, I am so exhausted and I have to drive all the way to Chilton tonight to go to a parent/teacher meeting.”

“Sounds great.” Clint said flatly.

“This school is just so different from Star Hollow. They send home like a thousand pages of updates every week. It’s a very intense place.” Tony continued.

“Uh-huh.”

“Okay what is wrong with you?” Tony asked, normally Clint was bouncing off the walls of his kitchen, micromanaging with the best of them and keeping top speed with a Nascar driving.

“She said it was fine.”

“Who said what was fine?” Tony was officially lost as he watched Clint sit back down, the magazine open to the review from this morning.

“Sharon Carter.”

“The restaurant critic?”

“She said my risotto was fine.” Clint explained.

“Well isn’t it?” Tony really had no idea what was wrong, that review was a 5-star stunner.

“No, it’s not fine. ‘Fine’ is a word you use when someone stops you on the street that you sort of know but don’t want to talk to so they ask you how you are and you say ‘Fine.’ And that’s just enough so they don’t have to keep talking to you.” Clint explains as Tony pours himself the fresh coffee, “Even if they don’t want to talk to you so they can feel good about themselves because they’ve been considerate enough to ask,” Tony tries to cut in but Clint keeps going, “And then god forbid something is actually wrong they’ll take the time to sit down and listen even though they don’t want to.”

“Okay can I say something?” Tony asks, finally getting a word in. When Clint doesn’t continue, he takes it as a yes, “I don’t think she meant ‘fine’ as a full on monologue.”

“She couldn’t have meant it any other way.” Clint insists, standing back up to pace around the room.

“I hate to see you get so upset over one little review Clint, especially when the rest of it was so wonderful.”

“This is pride, Tony. You know about this risotto. On my mother’s deathbed,” Clint starts the story before Tony starts to finish it for him.

“You made the risotto and she lived three more years.”

“She was supposed to be dead,” Clint exclaimed wildly, throwing his arm out, knocking over a pan and it crashing onto the floor, “The doctor said she wouldn’t make it through the night.”

“And she lived because of the risotto, the magic risotto.” Tony smiled, coming around to pat Clint on the back.

“And this chick had the nerve to say it was just ‘Fine.’”

“She didn’t know the story, Clint.” Tony tried leading Clint back towards his seat when Bruce walked in.

“Okay. Now, before you get angry with me, I don’t have your porcinis.” Bruce admits, placing a box down onto the counter, “I have the morels, which I know you don’t want, so come on. Let me have it.”

Tony smiled, hoping that the usual playful bickering between the chef and his produce guy would get him fired up like usual.

Clint turned away, going back to reread the review again, “Morels are fine.” He said over his shoulder.

Bruce leaned over to Tony, “Anyone else feel the shift in the space-time continuum? A portal in the sky didn’t just rip open did it?”

Tony explained, “A reviewer didn’t like the risotto.”

“The magic risotto?” Bruce asked, looking over Tony’s shoulder to see Clint hovering over a magazine, “You’re kidding.”

“Well, I gotta go so,” Turning to look at Clint, he asked Bruce, “Try and cheer him up would ya?”

“Uh, sure.”

Tony turned to walk out, patting Clint on the back on his way out. Hopefully Bruce would be able to get Clint feeling like his usual self. For some reason they seemed to get each other fired up. Bruce was normally a very mellow guy but Clint was the only one who could wake up the beast. Maybe Bruce could do the same for Clint.

-

“We will be focusing primarily on Elizabethan Literature,” Tony was sitting in one of the desks in the back of the Chilton classroom as Peter’s Literature professor explained the class curriculum to the parents, “Shakespeare, Marlowe, Bacon, Ben Jonson, John Webster.”

One of the parents interjected, “Is Marlow really that significant?”

Tony furrowed his brow, surely a teacher trained and hired to educate the best students in the country would know better than a stuffy businessman. Tony took a sip of the coffee he had helped himself to from the back of the room before they had started, grimacing at the taste.

“We want to give as complete an overview as possible.” Mr. Laufeyson explained calmly.

“Yes, but will he be included on the advanced-placement test?” One of the mothers asked.

“We can’t know exactly what will be on the AP test, but it will definitely be important for future studies when your children enter university.”

“But to get there they need to pass the AP test.” Another parent informed. 

Tony felt like all of these parents were talking in circles. This professor clearly knew what he was doing.

“It is all important, it could all be on the AP test.”

“Well how do we find out?” Another parent asked and Tony shook his head. They didn’t seem to understand that ‘we don’t know what will be on the test’ part.

“Might I suggest bribing somebody on the A.P. committee.” The teacher joked. Tony did his best to stifle a chuckle. He had to hold back even more when the parents turned to discuss it amongst themselves, as though it were a serious suggestion.

“That was not a serious suggestion, I hope you’re all aware.” The teacher announced and Tony had to hold himself back from physically busting out at the disappointed groans from the parents.

“I believe now would be a good time for a break, please help yourselves to some coffee in the back.”

While the other parents got up to get something to drink, Tony took his horrible coffee, and got up to examine the chalkboard with the class curriculum lined up.  
Taking another sip of the coffee, Tony shook his head, giving up on it getting any better.

“You know, not drinking it is also an option?” Mr. Laufeyson interjected, walking over to Tony.

“Not for me,” Tony smiled, holding out his hand, “Tony Stark, nice to meet you.”

“Loki Laufeyson, a pleasure.”

“Tough crowd huh?” Tony gestured to the parents all in the back of the room.

“It’s easier when there’s at least one person who is able to understand the joke.”

“Are you this nice to my kid?” Tony asked, defaulting to his usual topic of discussion when he ran out of things to say to people.

“Well, it’s rather easy. Peter is a nice boy.”

“Yeah, he really is.” Tony agreed, happy that Peter’s teachers already seemed to like him.

Loki motioned for Tony to follow him over to his desk, sitting down on it casually, “How is Peter liking Chilton?”

“Oh he’s loving it.”

“Really?” Loki lifted one eyebrow.

“Yeah, it’s an adjustment of course, but he’s always wanted to go to MIT and this is how he’ll get there.” Tony explained.

“MIT?” Loki asked.

“Yeah, I think ever since I told him that’s where I was going to go he’s had it in his head that it’s where he’s meant to go.”

“Well, I certainly hope he makes it there.”

“Thank you.”

“I also hope that he adjusts to this school. Chilton could use more students like him.”

“Thank you. That’s very nice.” It’s a good thing that not all of Chilton was intimidating and cold, this Loki guy seemed to really care.

“I hope he is not too disappointed about his paper. It’s very difficult to catch up on all that reading material. I know a ‘D’ seems dismal.”

“Peter got a ‘D?’”

“Yes but,” Loki went to continue.

“He’s never gotten a ‘D’ before.”

“Yes but he is adjusting, he’s bound to falter a little.”

“Oh, man. This explains the lack of throwing caution to the wind.” Tony says, getting caught up in his own thoughts.

“Caution to the wind?” Loki asked, confused about what Tony meant.

“Ugh, I’m sorry, I have to go.” Tony explained, throwing his half-empty cup of coffee into the trash.

“I hope I didn’t say anything to offend.” Loki said, standing up from where he had been leaning against his desk.

“Oh, no, not at all. I just,” Tony stopped to look up at Loki, hating how much taller the man seemed now that he was at full height, “I know Peter must not be feeling so well after getting a ‘D’ and I’d like to be there for him.”

“I understand, please, tell Peter to come to me if there is anything I can do for him.”  
Loki insisted.

“Of course, thank you very much. It was a pleasure meeting you.”

“Likewise.”

“And uh, don’t make coffee, ever again.” Tony jokingly said before turning to go.

-

Peter was sitting in the diner, furiously scribbling at his messy notes. His sleeves were rolled up and collar undone as he angrily erased what he had just written down. Going back to rewrite something, the tip of his pencil snapped. Angrily throwing the pencil down, Peter put his head in his hands.

“Here,” Steve put down a slice of apple pie with vanilla ice cream onto the table, “you look like you need pie.”

“I do?” Peter looked up and asked.

Steve nodded before pulling out the chair next to Peter and sitting down, “Violent pencil-tossing signals a need for pie.”

“What if I had thrown a pen?” Peter asked, picking up a spoon to eat some ice cream.  
“I’d bring you a trout.” Steve answered seriously.

“What?” Peter paused, looking up at Steve.

“I don’t make the rules, I just follow them.” Steve smiled before continuing, “New school a bit tougher than you thought?”

“That easy to tell?”

“Not really but I’d like to think I’m good at reading people.” Steve pulled Peter’s book over to face him, seeing that he was studying Shakespeare, “You know Peter, no one expects perfection except you.”

“Yeah, right.” All Peter seemed to be hearing was that he was a genius, that this should be easy, no problem for him.

“It’s true. How do you think your dad would feel if he knew you were driving yourself insane like this?” Steve asked, turning Peter’s book back around, “I think he’d rather see you back to enjoying books instead of tearing holes in them with an eraser.”

Peter took a piece of pie onto his spoon, not lifting it up from the plate yet.

“Don’t be afraid to ask for help, Peter. You’ll be your own worst enemy like that. I learned that the hard way.” Steve said as his final piece of advice before standing up, patting Peter on the shoulder.

“Hey Steve?” The man turned back to face Peter, “thanks.”

Steve pat him again on the shoulder before going back to work.

Tony came in to the diner, seeing Peter sitting there, taking a bite of pie. Walking up to the counter, he got Steve’s attention, “Pie? Did he even have dinner?”

“He’s your kid. I just serve.” Steve said, popping open the cash register.

Tony rolled his eyes before heading over to sit next to Peter, “Hey there Bookworm.”

“Finally, where have you been?”

“At Chilton for the…”Tony gestured for Peter to finish the sentence.

“Parent/Teacher meeting. Oh my god.” Peter said, immediately putting down his spoon, “I totally forgot.”

“Mhm,” Tony picked up the spoon and took some ice cream onto it, “It went very well. I was extremely charming.”

“So,” Peter hesitated, “I guess you talked to Mr. Laufeyson.”

“You know, you should have told me you were having trouble getting used to it.”

“I couldn’t.” Peter said guiltily, his shoulder slumping.

“You tell me everything. Why is this different?” Tony asked, suddenly not in the mood for pie.

“It was humiliating.” Peter confessed, looking anywhere but at his dad.

“Peter, you once told me that you wanted to marry Captain America. What could be more embarrassing than that?” Tony smiled, hoping his casual jokes made Peter less worried.

“I couldn’t form the words,” Peter finally looked up at his dad, “I couldn’t even say it. Or understand it. It was a ‘D’. I’ve never gotten a ‘D’ before. Ever.”

“I know.”

“Even when I broke my arm and I couldn’t write for a month, I still got an A-minus.”

“That was a different school.”

“I know, a ‘D’ at Stars Hollow High is like an ‘F’ at Chilton. It’s worse. It’s like a ‘G’ or a ‘W’. A ‘D’, I suck.” 

“You do not.” Tony hated seeing his son so defeated.

“I can’t do this.” Peter leaned back in his chair, looking down at his notes.

“Listen,” Tony moved the books away to the other end of the table, “A ‘D’ is bad, yeah. But all this “I suck” and “I can’t do this” and self-pity is way worse. That’s not Peter. A “D” is one grade, it’s not the end of the world. You’ll catch up, you’ll do better. You are of hardy, stubborn, stock, kiddo. If there’s one thing I gave you, it’s my stubbornness.”

“I’m not stubborn.”

“Yes you are.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Fine. You’re not.” Tony held up his hands in surrender.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. You can do this, Peter. And I will help you.” Tony finally said, trying to encourage him as best he could, “Put the ‘D’ behind you. What’s next?”

“I have a test on Friday.”

“Gotta love a good test.” Tony smiled.

“It’s on Shakespeare.”

“The bard with a beard.”

“It’s 20% of my grade.”

“Makes life interesting. Now what do we have to do to get you an ‘A’ on that test?”

Peter hesitated before asking, “Do you really think that I can do this?”

“I bet you can. One dollar.” Tony smiled, trying to get Peter back into the spirit.

“One dollar? That’s all my future is worth?” Peter asked, grabbing the spoon again and taking a piece of the pie.

“Well, you did get a ‘D’.” Tony tried again, finally getting a chuckle out of Peter.

“I think I know what I’m gonna do first.” Peter said, putting his books away for the night.

-

“Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments. Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds or bends with remover to remove.” Harry recited, word for word from memory.

“Oh, no. It is an ever-fixed mark that looks on tempests and is never shaken. It is the star to every wandering bark whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.” Peter finished after finding the verse.

Peter sat in the quad as Harry circled him, quoting and quizzing him on Shakespeare left and right, sometimes starting a verse just to meander off, expecting Peter to finish it without warning.

“The Comedy of Errors. Written?”

“1590.” Peter answered immediately.

“Published?”

“1623.

“The Sonnets are…”

“154 poems of 14 lines.”

With each question answered and verse repeated, Peter felt somehow more and less at ease. It was as if the more he understood the more he realized he hadn’t known before.

“Except…” Harry pushed farther.

“Except for 126, which is 12 lines.”

“Written in Iambic Pentameter, except,”

“For 145, which is in Tetrameter.”

But now, he was starting to make the connections, he was looking through Harry’s notes, almost seeing how the other boy was able to memorize and connect all of this information.

“Richard III. Written.”

“1592.

Maybe he should have done this on his first day.

-

“I found it!” Tony heard Clint yelling from the kitchen. Rushing over through the lobby, he saw Clint waving around a receipt from weeks ago.

“I knew it, I knew there was something wrong with the review.”

Tony shook his head, “Clint what is going on?”

“She ordered the wrong wine!” Clint waved the receipt in his face, “The wrong wine throws off the entire taste of the dish. See right here.”

Clint pointed to the receipt, a table from three weeks ago that had ordered just about everything on the menu, “She ordered a Riesling with my risotto.”

Tony took the receipt from him, “Well, why not just drink battery acid?”

“Exactly!” Clint threw up his arms, “It changes everything and that pompous reviewer needs to get better taste in wine!”

“Glad we solved the mystery that didn’t need solving.” Tony snarked, putting the receipt down.

Bruce came in through the back of the kitchen, “Okay, here are the zucchini.” He brought the box over in his hands, holding it out for Clint to inspect.

Taking on in hand, Clint examined it for 2 seconds before putting it back into the box and walking off, “Too small, take ‘em away!”

Sighing, Bruce put the box down onto the counter, “Good to have him back huh?”

“Yeah.” Tony agreed.

“You’re still gonna have to pay for the zucchini.”

“Yeah.”

-

“I’ve finished grading all of your tests,” Mr. Laufeyson announced as he walked through the aisles between desks, handing back papers, “I must say, I am very impressed by the effort put in by quite a few of you, others will need to try harder on the next coming assignments.”

Peter played with his pencil, nervously fidgeting as Mr. Laufeyson set his test down on desk. Taking a deep breath, Peter turned the paper over, looking at the big ‘A-‘ marked in red. He couldn’t believe this, how the hell could this have happened. 

He turned to Harry, sitting next to him, his own test sitting on top of his notebook with a perfect ‘A+’ at the top. Holding up his own grade, Peter beamed. He didn’t know how he’d ever be able to thank him for this.

The bell rang as Mr. Laufeyson handed back the last of the tests, “Make sure to complete your readings for tonight and be ready to discuss tomorrow.” Peter picked up his backpack, holding his test in his hands, wanting to look through every last question, “Mr. Stark, if I could see you for a moment.”

Peter walked over to the professor’s desk, Mr. Laufeyson taking the paper from his hands.

“I must say, Peter, I’m very impressed with your improvement in just a week’s time.” Loki smiled, flipping through the test.

“Thank you, sir. Harry has been helping me study.” Peter couldn’t stop grinning.

“I saw,” Loki handed the test back to Peter, “You two have been in the courtyard every day in between every class. It seems you devoted every spare moment to this exam.”

Peter nodded, his teacher having no idea how much stress he’d put himself under.

“Given that I see how well you can do once you’re caught up on the material, and the effort you’ve put in,” Loki opened his grade book, looking at Peter’s grade on the last paper, “I see it only fitting that you be allowed to resubmit your paper.”

Peter’s eyes went wide, “Absolutely, sir. I won’t let you down.”

Loki smiled, he could be cruel with his work but he certainly wasn’t unreasonable, “I’m sure you wont Peter, have it to me by the end of next week.”

“Thank you, Mr. Laufeyson!” Peter said, excitedly turning to exit the classroom.

Walking out the door, Peter turned to see Harry waiting for him, “Congratulations man.” Harry said, slinging his arm around Peter’s shoulders.

“Thanks,” Peter couldn’t help but feel like everyone was looking at them as they walked down the hallway, “I couldn’t have done it without you. How can I repay you for this?”

“How about you let me buy you some coffee?” Harry asked, his arm still slung around Peter’s shoulders.

“If I’m thanking you, then shouldn’t I be the one buying coffee?” Peter asked again before realizing what he had just said.

“Ever the gentleman.” Harry smiled, removing his arm from Peter’s shoulders, “You got a deal, coffee sometime next week after school?”

“Yeah, sounds good.” Peter couldn’t believe it, had he just set up a date with Harry? His only friend so far in the entire school.

Taking his cellphone out of his pocket, Peter dialed his dad.

“Hey, kiddo, everything alright?” Tony asked on the other end.

“I, uh, just got back my test from Mr. Laufeyson’s class.” Peter explained, holding his phone between his ear and shoulder as he went to open his locker.

“Should I sit down?” Tony joked, “Or maybe break out the bubbly?”

“I got an A-minus.” Peter explained farther, grabbing his phone with his hand again as he put his things down.

“Hey, that’s amazing!” Tony was practically shouting with excitement.

In the background, Peter could hear Steve telling his dad, “No phones, take it outside.”

“Are you gonna reveal to me your mystical secrets about how you managed to swing that ‘A’ or is it going to remain a mystery?” Tony asked, and Peter could hear the door chimes of the diner ringing through the phone, his dad clearly having left the building.

“Now where would be the fun in that? No intrigue and mystery if I just tell you everything.”

“Fine, fine. But tonight we’re celebrating. Any movie you want and we’ll go to the market and get plenty of snacks.”

“Amadeus?” Peter asked excitedly, shutting his locker and heading towards his next class.

“Again?” Tony groaned jokingly, “You’ve seen it like 50 times.”

“Not as many times as you’ve watched the good Star Trek movies.” Peter argued back, waiting outside the classroom before heading inside.

“Alright, alright, Amadeus it is.” Tony could hear the school bell on the other end, signaling that Peter had to go, “Congrats again kiddo, I’ll see you later.”

“Later, thanks Dad.” Peter hung up before going into his next lesson.

-

Peter had gotten a text from his dad as he got off the bus, telling him to meet up at the market and his dad would be there after he got out of work, something keeping him there late.

Heading over from the bus stop, Peter looked into the front window of the market before he reached the door. Stopping in his tracks, he saw MJ, the red-head he met before leaving Stars Hollow High. 

Slowly, Peter went towards the front door of the market, grabbing a basket as he went in. He made sure to keep to the sides of the building, slipping into the aisles before the girl saw him. Keeping his head down, Peter head into the fruit section.

“Peter, hi.” Peter jumped, not expecting the sudden hello. Turning he saw Natasha with a basket full of produce.

“Um, hi Natasha.” Peter smiled, glancing back towards the front of the store where he could see MJ ringing up Maria Hill, one of the Mayor’s staff.

“Well, what are you here for? You and your dad don’t usual buy groceries.” Natasha pointed out, and then followed Peter’s gaze, “Oh, I see. Well, that’s certainly not gonna fit in a basket.”

“Natasha, it’s not like that.” Peter tried defending himself. Though it was hard to do when he still had an entirely empty basket in his hand, “She’s just a person.”

“Mhm.” Natasha lifted a perfectly manicured eyebrow.

“A girl-type person.”

“I’m familiar with the type.” Natasha teased.

“I really don’t even know her.” Peter continued insisting even though he knew he’d been found out from the beginning.

“You don’t know her.” Natasha nodded her head agreeing.

“I don’t.”

“So you said.” 

“Please don’t tell anyone.” Peter pleaded, knowing that Natasha was the worst person to know your business.

“I promise that I won’t tell a single soul that you don’t know that girl.”

“Thank you.”

“Hi Tony.” Natasha smiled looking behind Peter.

“Oh real funny, ha ha.” Peter chuckled sarcastically.

“What’s funny?” Tony asked from behind Peter, grabbing a bottle of soda off the shelves next to them.

“Nothing,” Peter jumped, turning to face his dad.

“What are you two doing at the market?” Natasha asked and Peter thanked whatever god was looking out for him that Natasha felt merciful today and had changed the subject.

“Movie night, we’re celebrating Peter’s ‘A’ on his test.” Tony smiled proudly, knowing that Peter had worked so hard to earn his grade.

“Well you two enjoy. And congratulations Peter, on everything.” Peter cringed as she added the last part with a wink.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Tony asked his son as the woman left to get checked out at the front.

“Who knows?” Peter hoped he didn’t look as nervous as he felt, “Natasha practically speaks in encryptions.”

Side-eyeing is son, Tony chose to let it go as they walked towards the snack aisle, “So, what kind of delicacies will we be enjoying tonight, my friend?”

“Gotta go with the M&Ms,” Peter said, grabbing a bag of the candy and dropping it into his basket.

“Of course, and Red Vines.” Tony added, grabbing a box.

“Classic.” Peter agreed as he grabbed popcorn.

“Oh, we have chips at home, grab some cheese and we’ll make nachos?” Tony asked, plopping some pretzel rods into the basket.

“Yeah and those chips with the lime in them.”

“I swear, you are not my son. You don’t have use lime chips when you make nachos.” Tony argued as they made their way to the front.

“I beg to differ.” Peter snarked back, leading his dad over to the register where MJ wasn’t working. He put the basket down on the table, reaching for his wallet.

“Sorry boys,” the older woman at the register said, “I’m closing up, but MJ can help you at the next counter.”

“Thank you,” Tony said with a smile before grabbing the basket.

Peter paused as his dad walked over to the other register, smiling at MJ as she started ringing them up. His dad, noticing Peter wasn’t next to him, motioned for Peter to come over, his brow furrowing in confusion.

“Oh, hi Peter.” MJ smiled excitedly, scanning the last of their items.

“Uh, hi MJ.” Peter greeted back, not daring to look at his dad.

“I haven’t seen you around much lately,” she added, sliding their items down the line to the bag boy at the end, “that new school must be keeping you busy, huh?”

“Yeah, busy all the time.” Peter said awkwardly.

“You’re one of Peter’s friends?” Tony asked the girl, Peter still didn’t look over to his dad.

“Yeah, I’m Mary-Jane. My family just moved to town a few weeks ago.” She explained, holding out her hand to shake his.

Tony took her hand, smiling at the young girl, “It’s great to meet you, Mary-Jane. I’m Peter’s dad, Tony.”

“It’s nice meeting you.” Tony liked this girl, she was polite and bubbly and was responsible enough to get a job while in school.

“We don’t want to hold you up,” Peter tried moving his dad along as he reached for his wallet, paying with exact change so that they wouldn’t have to spend any extra time here, “It was cool seeing you again.”

“Oh, you too, Peter. We should hang out sometime.” Peter picked up the grocery bags.

“Yeah, totally.” Peter agreed hurriedly. 

“Welcome to town, Mary-Jane.” Tony said politely as he followed his rushing son out the door of the market.

“What the hell was that?” Tony asked once they were outside of the market, he had to keep himself from laughing at how awkward his son was being.

“Nothing.”

“Sure it wasn’t.” Tony nodded, “You know her?”

“No.” Peter said, maybe too quickly as he walked down the sidewalk and towards the car.

“She knew your name.” Tony pointed out, “And you called her by a nickname, unless everyone we don’t know is now called MJ.”

“She just goes to my old school.” Peter tried covering his tracks as they both got into the car, “So I don’t really know her, I just know of her.” 

“You know of her. The brand new girl who moved in when you started going to a different school.” Tony tried to figure out what the hell was going on, “A girl who just asked you to hang out.”

“We met on my last day at Stars Hollow High.” Peter explained, knowing his dad was just going to keep talking in circles.

“So you do know her.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“And now you two are going to…hang out.” Tony paused, insinuating that the two of them would be doing more than just hanging out and would be going out on a date instead.

“I don’t know, she was probably just saying that to be polite.”

“Well, you know how tough it is to go to a new school. And you didn’t even move. Maybe she wants to be friends.” He paused in his explanation, “Or, you know, more than friends.”

“Dad.” Peter groaned as they approached their driveway.

“I’m just saying,” Tony shrugged as he pulled the car in, “There’s no reason why you two shouldn’t…hang out. I mean, if that’s what you want to do…is hang out.”

“I…” Peter started before he paused to figure out what he wanted to say, “I don’t know if I want to…hang out.”

“Okay,” Tony said, parking the car but not getting out, “if you don’t want to…hang out with her then don’t feel like you have to.”

Neither one made a move to leave the car, Tony waited for Peter to say something, it looking like he had something on the tip of his tongue.

“What if…” Peter started before hesitating. Tony waited wordlessly for his son to continue, “What if…I already had plans to…hang out with…someone after school next week?”

“And it’s not Mary-Jane?” Tony asked, trying to understand what Peter was saying.

“No, no. It’s not MJ.” Peter answered.

“Then that’s fine too.” Tony said, “Nothing wrong with that.”

“And what if…that hanging out was with…someone who isn’t a girl.” Peter finally admit.

Tony nodded, seeing what Peter had been worried about, “Then you should probably tell MJ that you’re not interested and just want to be friends.” Tony nudged Peter’s shoulder playfully, hoping that his son was understanding that he was fine with whatever Peter wanted, so long as he was happy.

They both got out of the car, heading into the house. Before they could get through the door, Peter spoke up again, “And… if I am interested?”

“In…hanging out with either of these people?” Tony asked.

Peter nodded, “I…I like them both…but I’m not sure which to choose.”

Tony sighed, putting his arm around Peter’s shoulder as they went into the house, “Peter, that’s not something I can tell you. You’re going to have to figure that out on your own.”

“And if I make the wrong choice?”

“That’s not a choice that can be wrong. It’s just something you need to decide, which people you want to date is just something that comes with growing up, you can’t help who you’re attracted to. That whole ‘Angelina Jolie, Billy Bob Thornton’ thing is proof of that.”

Peter laughed as he and his had gone into the living room and started their movie. He’d have to think about this a lot.


	5. The Proof is in the Pudding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone is getting more and more excited about Peter's birthday party this weekend and Peter's teacher has an interesting conversation with Tony at the school bake sale.

Sitting around the dining room table in Stark Manor, they were waiting for Howard to return from a phone call before starting dessert.

“Tomorrow our lawyer, Bert Hindel is coming by.” Maria said as she went to take a sip of coffee.

“Ugh, crazy Sissy’s dad.” Tony groaned, putting down his glass of wine.

“That’s terrible.” Maria exclaimed, “Sissy was a good friend of yours growing up.”

“Mom, Sissy talked to her stuffed animals and they answered her.”

“Let’s just start a new topic.” Peter said, hoping to keep a fight from happening.

“You’re impossible.” Maria shook her head, still facing Tony.

“He said a new topic, Mom.” Tony urged her.

“Everything’s a joke. Everyone’s a punch line.” Maria continued on.

“Okay, I’m sorry.” Tony gave in, knowing that she wouldn’t stop until she wanted to.

“My son, Henny Youngman.” Maria concluded with a sip of coffee.

“Sorry about that,” Howard reentered the room, walking over to his usual seat at the head of the table, “A bit of trouble with our China offices. What did I miss?”

“I was being impossible and then I turned into a Jewish comedian.” Tony explained as his father sat down.

“Well, continue.” Howard ignored, gesturing for Maria to talk.

“Thank you, where was I?” Maria thought for a moment to remember where she left off.

“Bert Hindel is coming tomorrow?” Peter asked, reminding her.

“Yes, so, Peter, your grandfather and I thought that it might be nice for you after dinner to go around the house and pick out what you’d like us to leave you in our will.” Maria said cheerfully.

“Take a look at that desk in my office. It’s a very fine Georgian piece.” Howard said smugly.

“Why don’t I ever bring a tape recorder to these dinners?” Tony said more to himself than anyone at the table.

“Oh, well anything you want to leave me is fine.” Peter answered, feeling awkward because of the topic.

“Nonsense. You should have what you like.” Maria insisted, “So just look around and anything you like, you can just put a post-it on it.”

“Okay, you two have officially hit a new level of weird that even I marvel at.” Tony stated loudly.

“You can pick out things too, you know.” Maria responded, as though that made it any less awkward.

“Oh, well now it’s way less creepy.” Tony smiled, picking up his wine.

“You hear that Howard? Apparently we’re creepy.” Maria turned to her husband as though to say, ‘shut up your son please.’

“Well, you live and learn.” Howard always figured that ignoring his son’s antics were the best way to get him to stop.

“Oh, cool.” Peter said as the maid placed a bowl in front of him.

“What’s that?” Tony asked confused.

“It’s dessert.” Maria supplied, as though it were obvious.

“It’s pudding.” Tony answered back.

“If you knew what it was then why did you ask?” Maria questioned, never understanding her son.

“You don’t like pudding.” Tony answered as the maid served him his bowl as well.

“Yes, but you like pudding.” Maria took another sip of her coffee.

“Oh, I love pudding. I worship it.” Tony picked up his spoon ready to dig in, “I have a bowl of it up on the mantel at home with a Virgin Mary, a glass of wine, and a dollar bill next to it.”

“I’ve never had pudding from a crystal bowl before.” Peter smiled as he got a spoonful.

“You like the bowl?” Maria asked with a smile.

“Mhm.” Peter hummed as he enjoyed his pudding.

“Put a post-it on it when you’re done.” Maria lifted her coffee cup again, smiling to Howard at the other end of the table. He lifted his in a mock toast.

-

After both of them had spent some time putting post-its on anything in the house that they liked, Tony and Peter returned to the sitting room when Maria walked in.

“So, it’s getting late, Mom.” Putting down his post-it pad and pen, Tony was just about sick of this place for one night, “So unless you have some funeral plots for us to decorate I think it’s about time we get going.”

“Very nice.” Maria rolled her eyes before turning to face Peter, “Any special requests for dinner next week?”

“Oh, well.” Peter started before getting cut off by his dad.

“Mom, I’d like to talk to you for a minute.” Tony, not-so-subtly gestured with his head for Peter to get out of the room, “And Peter, why don’t you go say goodbye to grandpa.”

“Very smooth.” Peter said, putting down his pen and post-its to go look for his grandfather.

“Shall I sit down?” Maria asked, thoroughly unamused by her son’s antics.

“Yeah,” Tony said with a smile, “Oh, but not there.” He continued as he saw his mother go to sit on the couch, “We have a post-it on that and we’d like to keep it nice.”

Maria sighed, staying standing, “It must be very exhausting to be you.”

“Mom, Peter’s birthday is next Friday.” Tony came out and said it directly.

“I know that.” Maria nodded.

“So, we were thinking that we could push our weekly dinner to Saturday.” Tony said, knowing that he couldn’t get out of it completely but he could at least try to move the day.

“Well, what are you going to do on Friday?”

“Oh, well I don’t know…” Tony started before being cut off.

“Perfect, you’ll come here and we’ll have a little party.” Maria said smiling to her son.

“I was just hoping that we could do it another night.” Tony was trying to stay as sweet as possible, knowing that if he got upset at all then it definitely wouldn’t happen.

“Why do it another night when his birthday falls on the exact night that you do come here?” Maria kept insisting.

“Saturday’s a pretty good night, Mom.”

“Not as good as Friday.”

“Damn close.” Tony practically wanted to scream and say forget it.

“Not from where I’m standing.”

“Move then.”

“I’m sorry Anthony, but Friday nights are my nights.” Maria crossed her arms and holding her head high, “That’s what we agreed on when you borrowed money for his school. The rules haven’t changed.”

“Mom, I didn’t intend for this loan to become a constant source of blackmail.” Tony crossed his own arms, “Now this is my kid’s birthday and he will have his party at home on Friday. And that’s it. End of story.”

-

“So, how would you like two parties this year?” Tony smiled as they got in the car.

“You couldn’t get her to cave.” Peter shook his head.

“No, but she did agree to make the string quartet learn the Star Trek theme.”

“Well, you tried.” 

“Peter, I promise. Saturday night we’ll do it up right at home. A Stars Hollow Extravaganza.” Tony smiled, starting the car.

“So is this party Grandma’s through going to be a big deal?” Peter asked as he put on his seatbelt.

“Not really,” Tony started pulling out of the driveway, “The government will close that day. Flags will fly at half-mast. Barbra Streisand will give her final concert… Again.”

“Uh, huh.” Peter regret asking.

“Now, the Pope has previous plans but he’s trying to get out of them. However, Elvis and Jim Morrison are coming and they’re bringing chips.” Tony smiled, hoping to at least cheer Peter up a little bit.

“You ask a simple question…” Peter shook his head.

-

“Angel wings with dipping sauce,” Clint read off of his list.

“Delicious.” Tony agreed.

“Baked garlic parmesan potato wedges.”

“Incredible.”

“Avocado egg rolls with sweet chili sauce. Oh, did you bring me the picture?” Clint asked, making notes on all of the things he’s preparing for Peter’s party.

“Oh, yeah.” Tony took out a picture of Peter from his portfolio, handing it over to Clint.

“It sucks that you couldn’t get your mom to give up Friday night.”

“Nope, she’s got her Vulcan death grip on that one.” Tony said, leaning against the counter where the two were sitting.

“Not surprising though.”

“Maria Stark, you could set your watch by her.” Tony joked, “Although you know what she did do last night?”

“Wear jeans?”

“Served pudding.”

“I was close.” Clint smirked, loving how ridiculous Tony’s family was.

“I mean, I’m sure it was some expensive form of pudding, but it was still pudding. That would mean that she actually made a mental note that we liked pudding, which would mean that she actually listened to something that we said.

“Not to mention that she would have gotten over the fact that, to her, pudding is hospital food and only acceptable to be eaten when you’ve just had a vital organ ripped out of your body.”

“That’s some journey she must have had to take.” Clint shook his head.

Just then, Bruce came in from the back entrance to the kitchen, holding a small Tupperware of what looked like berries.

“Open your mouth and close your eyes.” He said to Clint quickly.

“Okay.” Clint did as he was told, opening his mouth, his eyes squeezed tight.

“Now get ready for something amazing.” Bruce explained as he popped a small berry into Clint’s mouth.

“Mmm, yeah!” Clint said opening his eyes as he chewed.

“What is it?” Tony asked.

“I don’t know.” Clint shook his head, “It’s like a berry but more exotic.”

“Yes, good.” Bruce exclaimed happily.

“Bruce, have you been having reactions to your fertilizer fumes again?” Tony asked him.

“For some time now I’ve been experimenting with cross-pollination. Finally I figured out a way to cross a raspberry with a kumquat.” Bruce explained, setting his berries onto the kitchen counter top.

“Kumquat, that’s what I taste!” Clint exclaimed as he figured out what that familiar taste was. “How did you do this?” Clint asked as he took another berry.

“You didn’t build one of those machines like in ‘The Fly’ did you?” Tony asked jokingly, “We’re not gonna see you wandering around town with a raspberry head crying ‘eat me’?”

Bruce and Clint leaned over the counter together chatting as Phil came in, “Stark.”

“Ugh, I’ll talk to you guys later. You need me Phil?”

“The landscaper does.” He answered dryly.

Turning to walk out of the kitchen, Tony turned to face Phil, “Oh, Peter’s birthday party is Saturday night, so start thinking up reasons why you can’t come.”

“I’m going to be out of town.” Phil said quickly.

“Ooo, you used that last year.”

“I’ll work on it and get back to you.”

“7 o’clock, presents mandatory.” Tony said before turning to leave the kitchen.

-

“Lucy, I’m home.” Tony called out as he came in through the front door.

“Kitchen!” Peter called while hanging up the phone, “Pizza’s on its way.”

“You’re such a good provider.” Tony smiled as he took off his suit jacket and loosened his cuffs.

“I’m gonna start on my homework,” Peter said as he head into his bedroom, “Call me when the pizza guy gets here.”

“Okay.” Tony said, getting ready to work on the coffee maker, hoping to get it working properly tonight so it would be fine in the morning.

When the phone rang, Tony picked it up and held it between his shoulder and ear as he worked with his hands, “Hello.”

“Anthony, what is your work schedule?” Maria was on the other end.

“Why?” Tony asked, immediately suspicious.

“I want to go shopping.”

“With me?” Tony actually had to put his screwdriver down for this one.

“I think that goes without saying.”

“Only in your world mom.”

“I want to get Peter a birthday present.”

“Oh, well I’m sure whatever you get him he’ll love.” Tony had no doubts that Peter would appreciate anything his grandmother got for him. The kid was just too sweet.

“Yes, but I want to get him something special, something he wants.” Maria hesitated, “Something that you would get him.”

“Okay fine, you can get him the bong then.” Tony shrugged.

“This isn’t funny, Anthony. I hardly see the boy and we only get to talk once a week at dinner and even then it’s all about school.” Maria seemed sincere, “I thought you’d let me into your secret club just this once and help me buy him something special for his birthday.”

“You’re serious?” Tony asked.

“According to you, I’m always serious.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?” Maria asked, making sure she heard him right.

“Yeah, I have to be at Chilton tomorrow for a parent bake sale, I can meet you at your house after?” Tony asked.

“That sounds wonderful Anthony, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow mom.”

-

“Hey, shouldn’t you be baking?” Peter asked as he came out of his bedroom to see his dad sitting with his feet propped up on a kitchen chair.

“I don’t know shouldn’t you be knitting?” Tony said as he flipped through the morning paper.

Peter shut his bedroom door, the music from his stereo muffled behind the door, “Dad, the Chilton bake sale is today.”

“I know, I got it covered.” Tony said, closing his paper.

“They expect the things to be homemade.” Peter insisted, obviously worried.

“I know.” Tony stood up, pouring himself coffee in a to-go mug.

“By someone other than Dolly Madison.” Peter reached for an apple from the bowl on the kitchen table, taking a big bite out of it.

“I said I have it covered.”

“All of the parents pitch in for this,” Peter slung his backpack over his shoulder, “so this is really, really important. You know that, right?”

“Oh, well I didn’t know that and in that case I don’t have it covered.” Tony smirked, “I have it covered. Hit the stereo we gotta go.”

“That’s not me,” Peter took another bite of his apple before going over to his bedroom door and pushing it open to reveal Wanda, the stereo on behind her and Tarot cards splayed out on the ground around her in a pattern.

“Where does your dad think you are?” Tony came over to the door and asked.

Wanda hit the stereo before starting to pick up her cards, wrapping them in a silk cloth and placing them on Peter’s bookshelf, “On a park bench contemplating the reunification of East and West Germany.”

“Not here and,” Tony gestured to the card deck, “trying to talk to the oracle?”

“Wouldn’t be included.” Wanda stood up, grabbing her own backpack.

“School.” Tony said to the both of them before grabbing his keys off the kitchen table.

Heading out to the driveway, Wanda waved a goodbye before leaving and heading off to Stars Hollow High.

Peter turned to head towards his bus stop, “I’ll see you later at school.”

“For what?” Tony asked.

“Dad! The bake sale!” Peter turned on his heels.

“Ha! I got the vein in the forehead.” Tony laughed.

“Sadist!” Peter shouted after him before getting on his skateboard and heading to the bus stop.

-

In the central courtyard of Chilton there were tables lined up, each one covered in baked goods and beverages for the parents to buy and enjoy with the students.

Clint had just finished setting the table, each cake and dessert more finely decorated than the last, “Well, what do you think?”

“Amazing!” Peter said, grabbing one of the strawberries dipped in chocolate and popped it into his mouth.

“Incredible.” Tony agreed.

“It is pretty great isn’t it?” Clint crossed his arms as he took a good long look at his work. He always loved when Tony told him he could go all out.

Their table was already getting plenty of attention as Peter helped Clint cut slices of cake for the parents asking for treats.

Walking up to the table, Mr. Laufeyson took in the sight of all the different cakes as he made his way over to talk to Tony.

“Very Henry the eighth.” Loki commented on the table.

“Well, we’re not into subtle.” Tony smiled up at the taller man.

“It’s good to see you, Tony.”

“Good to see you, Loki.”

“Could I borrow you for a second, if you’re not busy?”

“Oh, sure. Lead the way.” Tony followed Loki a few paces away as the two of them spoke, “I wanted to actually thank you for letting Peter redo that paper. I know you didn’t have to.”

“Peter is a nice young man, reminds me a lot of myself actually.” Loki nodded, “And after I saw what a big difference the test made it seemed right.”

“Well thank you, I know it meant a lot to him.” Tony said, turning to face Loki when they stopped next to the fountain at the other end of the courtyard, “And to me. It was really kind of you.”

“Like I said, Peter reminds me of myself. I’d like to see to it that he gets through Chilton in one piece.” Loki explained.

“I really appreciate that.”

“And I’d like us to be friends.”

“I’d like that too.” Tony couldn’t help but smile, this Loki guy had a way of talking that made him seem all the more charming and trustworthy.

“Then, I’d like to propose something and I’m not sure how you’re going to take it.” Loki explained, holding his hands behind his back.

“Wow, intrigue. How mysterious.” 

“I’d like to see you sometime,” Loki gestured towards the school building as he spoke, “Away from the gargoyles and ivy. Away from the school.”

“You’re asking me out on a date?” Tony couldn’t help but to smile.

“Yes, I am.”

“Well, I don’t want to go out on a limb here, but if the Headmistress isn’t too keen on a kids tie not being on straight, then she’d probably frown upon a teacher dating a dad.” Tony wasn’t sure about any of this.

“I do my job well, I’m dedicated to my students,” Loki shrugged as he continued, “And there is nothing in the Chilton book of ethics that prohibits it.” He spoke casually, as though it wasn’t a big deal to come across as having read the book of ethics to find out if he could get fired for asking someone out.

“Yeah, but I’m guessing it’s one of those unwritten rules.” Tony nodded.

“Do you want to go?” Loki tried again.

“Peter would probably freak at the thought.”

“Do you want to go?” The teacher tried again.

“Other parents would have a field day with this kind of thing.”

“Do you want to go?”

“Yes.” Tony finally answered.

“Good.” Loki smiled.

“Wait. No.” Tony shook his head, “I can’t. It’s weird. It’s wrong.”

“I’ll pay.” Loki smiled.

“You’re on.”

“Really?”

Tony couldn’t help but to smile at that, “I’m kidding. I don’t know. You’re Peter’s teacher.”

“I know.”

“Could you quit?” Tony asked. After a pointed look from Loki he shook his head. “Right, that’s crazy. I’m sorry.”

“Then how about coffee? You like coffee?” Loki asked.

“Only with my oxygen.” Tony answered.

“Can we drink some together?” Loki asked, “A pre-date of sorts. Very casual, no obligations. Just to see if it’s worth eventually adding food at all.”

When Tony hesitated, Loki added on, “Decaf? No coffee is safer than decaf.”

Tony sighed, “I’m going to be in town tomorrow because I take a business class at the college. There is a coffee shop across the street that I sometimes, almost all the time, go to around 4 and usually exactly 4:12. I could not stop a person from entering said establishment around that time, nor would I avoid them if I knew them if they did.”

“You know, the silver tongue thing,” Loki smiled, “It‘s something we have in common.”

“So, I’ll see you around, Loki.” Tony smiled as he went to go back to the others.

“Indeed, you will.”

-

That afternoon, Tony and his mother were walking around the department store trying to get ideas for a good present for Peter.

“What about a new stereo?” Maria asked, gesturing to the far-too-expensive and massive stereo rig and amplifier set that was on display.

“Yeah perfect,” Tony snarked, “When he joins Aerosmith we’ll give it to him.”

“You are very combative today.” Maria said, turning to look at other displays.

“Oh hey,” Tony said, picking up a 20-sides puzzle cube, “This would be perfect.”

“What would he do with that?” Maria asked, looking at the strange contraption.

“Play with it, solve the puzzles.” Tony explained.

“Oh please.” Maria rolled her eyes, something in a display case catching her eye. Tony put the puzzle cube down and followed her. “What about a leather briefcase?”

“Briefcase?” Tony asked, walking over to his mother. “He’s a young boy, Mom. Think of something young.”

“A Mont Blanc pen?” Maria asked, turning to face her son.

“To put on his desk at the law-firm?” Tony asked sarcastically.

“He needs to write.” Maria insisted.

“Well, not with a 200 dollar pen he doesn’t.” Tony smiled as he started looking around more, “Hey, what about these day planners? Get him one of those pencils with a funky eraser on the top, he’ll love that.”

“Please be serious. We’re shopping for Peter.” Maria said, following Tony over to the table where the day planners were.

“No, I’m shopping for Peter, you’re shopping for your imaginary grandson, Rory Gates.”

“I want to get him something nice.” Maria said, trying to explain herself.

“I know you do, Mom but you asked for my help and you’re not listening.”

“Well, you wanted me to get him a Filofax and pencil.” Maria pointed to the table they were in front of.

“It was one suggestion.” 

“And of course there was the t-shirt with Einstein’s face on it.” Maria rolled her eyes.

“An inspiration to many young men.” Tony smiled, crossing his arms.

“Oh, I don’t know how to do this, let’s just go.” Maria said, turning to head towards the door, clearly upset.

“Oh no, no. Come on, Mom.” Tony started following her, waiting for her to stop and face him, “You do know how to do this. Think pudding.”

“Pudding?” She asked, clearly confused.

“Come on, you asked for my help. You’re reaching out.” Tony said, “Not a lot, don’t get freaked. But, Mom. Pudding.”

“Why do you keep saying ‘pudding’?” 

“Just look around and pick something up that you think he might like.” Tony said, as he went to look at another display.

Maria sighed, walking towards one of the counters in front of them to take a look.

“Here.” Maria said, standing in front of a row of cameras.

Tony came over to see her holding a simple digital camera, not too expensive or fancy. “Now that’s really good.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely. He’ll love that.”

“Are you sure, Tony? Should I get him something else to go with it?” Maria asked.

“No, Mom. That’ll be perfect.” He wasn’t going to mention how this was one of the only times in his life his mother has called him Tony instead of Anthony.

“Alright then, the camera it is.” Maria smiled.

“Good choice.”

-

Tony walked into the Stars & Stripes Diner, a garment bag in hand. Looking around, he didn’t see Peter anywhere. He went and sat at the counter, ready to bother Steve until his son came in.

“He’s not here yet.” Steve explained as Tony sat in front of him.

“Well then you’ll just have to entertain me till he gets here. Dance burger boy.” Tony smiled up at him.

“Do you ever stop talking?” Steve asked as he organized receipts from the day on the counter top.

“You better be nice to me, or I’m not inviting you to Peter’s birthday celebration this Saturday night.”

“You know you don’t have to ask me.”

“I know, but I would like you to come.” Tony said sincerely.

“Okay, I’ll see.” Steve couldn’t help but to smile.

“7 o’clock, don’t be late.” Tony smirked as the door to the diner opened, turning to face it he saw Peter walk in and go for a table in the back.

“Hey, what’s in the bag?” Peter asked, putting his stuff on the third seat at the table.

“They’re our suits for the party. Your grandma insisted.” Tony smiled, “They’re a little stuffy but I think if we take them to Jan she’ll be able to work her magic.”

“Can’t wait.”

“I was shopping today with your grandmother and it was a whole three hours of ‘Who are you buying that for? Have you met Peter?’ Then finally I talked and she listened and she ended up getting you something I think you’re really going to like.” 

“Really?” Peter could hardly believe it. Normally after spending time with either of his grandparents his dad was about ready to have a panic attack.

“Really.”

“I’ve never seen you so cheery after spending time with grandma.” Peter explained, happy to see them getting along a bit better.

“It’s been a long time since we got together and didn’t end up fighting. It was refreshing. It wasn’t exactly fun but I didn’t get that shooting pain in my eye like I usually do.” Tony explained.

“That’s great, Dad.”

“Yeah, it was.”

Steve came over, setting down two cups of coffee onto the table, “So, I hear you’re having a party on Saturday.”

“Yeah, Dad’s famous for his blowouts.” Peter explained.

“The best one was his 8th birthday.” Tony said with a mischievous smirk.

“Yeah, that was good.” Peter agreed as he took a sip of coffee.

“The cops shut us down.” Tony explained, looking up at Steve as he grinned.

“The cops shut down an 8-year-old’s birthday?” Steve had to ask, not understanding how that was even possible.

“And arrested the clown.” Peter added as he and his dad started to laugh.

“I don’t want to hear another word.” Steve said as he turned away from their table.

-

“Happy Birthday.” Harry said as he caught up to Peter in the hallway.

“It’s not my birthday.” Peter looked at him confused.

“No but it will be on Friday.” Harry took out an invitation, starting to read it, “This Friday join Howard and Maria Stark in celebrating…” Harry was cut off as Peter grabbed the invitation out of his hand.

“Who else got these?” Peter asked, reading the invitation himself.

“Our entire class I think.” Harry explained, “Hey, since it’s your birthday, why don’t I treat you to coffee then. Today after school.”

“I thought I was supposed to take you.”

“Times are changing man, consider it a birthday present.” Harry smiled, “Meet me in the parking lot after your last class, I know the perfect place to get some coffee.”

Peter nodded, “Yeah sure.”

-

Sitting in the small café, Peter and Harry were talking about anything that came to mind, school, classmates, their favorite foods, how they liked their coffee. They found out that they’ve read a lot of the same books and are planning on reading a lot of the same ones in the future. 

“I’ve wanted to go to MIT for as long as I can remember.” Peter explained, taking a sip of his coffee.

“That’s how I’ve been with Harvard. All of the men in my family have gone there.”

“That must be nice, having a legacy to take over. To have something passed down to you.” Peter wasn’t one to be envious, but it really seemed like Harry had the perfect life.

“It’s a lot of pressure.” Harry explained, looking down into his macchiato, “It’s just how it’s always been. I go to school, I be the best, and then take dad’s place. I’ve never had any other options.”

“It’s tough huh?” Peter asked. He’d never been under that pressure, he really had no idea what it must be like for someone like Harry.

“I really can’t complain. I’m set for life.” Harry took a slow sip of his drink before continuing, “I just have to not mess it up.”

Peter almost hesitated to ask, “If you could be anything, anything in the world. What would you choose to be?”

“A trophy wife.” Harry joked, both boys laughing before Harry amended, “An architect.”

“Why?” Peter asked, “Of all things, why that?”

“It’s math and physics combined with art. It’s like a science that no two people can do exactly the same.”

“I never thought of it that way.” Peter admit. “If that’s what you want to do then, why not go for it?”

“Not that easy.” Harry shook his head, “At least not with my family.”

Harry’s phone started going off, the imperial march as his ringtone. Normally Peter would laugh at the nerdy ringtone if not for the scowl that formed on Harry’s face. “Speaking of, I gotta take this. I’ll be right back.” Harry took his phone and headed for the door.

“Yeah no problem, man.” Peter took out his own phone, checking the time. It was already past 4, he had no idea he’d been sitting here with Harry for so long already. He better text his dad saying he’d be home later than he thought.

-

Tony walked into the familiar coffee shop, seeing Loki sitting at the counter and going over to sit next to him. Sitting down, he pretended not to notice the other man.

“Tony?” Loki played along.

“Loki, what a small world.”

“Indeed it is.” Loki smiled.

“What are you drinking?” Tony asked, gesturing to the cup in Loki’s hands.

“Coffee.”

“Plain coffee?”

“Well, I had wanted some cream, but that prompted a very elaborate foam conversation and the look of disapproval I got when I said I didn’t want foam, just cream, rivaled the one I got from my father when I told him I wanted to become a teacher.” Loki explained, only half joking.

“So it’s been a tough outing for you huh?” Tony asked teasingly.

“Well, it seems to have gotten much better already.”

Tony didn’t have any flirtatious comeback and was happy when the barista came over and asked, “What can I get you?”

“Coffee, please.” Tony answered simply.

“So, here we are.” Loki said, “Away from the school.”

“And it’s unique strictures.” Tony agreed happily.

“Fate can be a funny thing.”

“These things do happen.” Tony folded his arms over and leaned on the counter, “So, should we cut the cute and just get right to it?”

“Are you always so forward?” Loki asked, quirking an eyebrow as he went for a sip of coffee.

“Most of the time, you get used to it.”

“I plan on it.” Loki seemed confident, and Tony had no idea why he liked that so much, “I think we should date.”

“Why?” Tony asked.

“Because I think we both want to.”

“I also want to be in Led Zeppelin but that doesn’t mean I’m going to quit my day job, buy a guitar and be in the band.” Tony argued.

“Led Zeppelin’s broken up.”

“That wasn’t the point.” Tony rolled his eyes jokingly.

“It has to be part of the point if the band isn’t together any more.”

“I repeat my question. Why?”

“Because we’re clearly attracted to each other.” Loki answered quickly.

“Well I’m also attracted to pie, doesn’t mean I feel the need to date pie.” Tony challenged him coolly.

“Well then, because we look good together.” Loki tried, not having any other counter arguments.

“Wow, round one and already tapped out.” Tony smiled.

“Listen,” Loki leaned closer to Tony, “I know that you are concerned about the appearance of us dating.”

“Yes, I am.”

“But I can tell you, I am the soul of discretion when it comes to delicate relationships.”

“Dated a lot of Chilton parents, huh?” Tony teased.

“I mean any relationship. Work, family.” Loki continued on.

“Oh, so you have things to hide in all aspects of your life. Very interesting.” Tony continued his minor interrogation.

Loki sighed and looked to the barista passing them by from behind the counter, “Do you have any hemlock back there? Arsenic? Something quick.”

Tony took a sip of his coffee before turning to Loki, “Do you like rap music?”

“Yeah.”

“Me, too. Italian food?”

“Yeah.”

“Me, too.” Tony smirked, “You just telling me what I want to hear?”

“Yeah.”

“I knew it.” Tony shook his head.

“Well, that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t coincide with how I really feel.” Loki pointed out.

“Yeah but if you tell me what you think I want to hear then I’m not really getting to know the real you.”

“Well if I know what you want to hear then doesn’t that show a level of understanding on my part that far exceeds your understanding of me.” Loki smirked when Tony didn’t have an instant rebuttal, “Who’s the one lagging?”

“Uh…” Tony had nothing.

“Wow, round one and already tapped out.” Loki teased.

Tony took a sip of coffee before responding, “Peter is my life. He’s my pal, my everything. And I would never do anything that would hurt him.”

“Okay,” Loki leaned in, “When my uncle was a young man, there was this girl who lived across the street from him. And he was in love with her. But he never spoke to her. And he knew that this was the girl that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.”

“This is going to be sad isn’t it?” Tony asked.

“Haven’t you ever heard that it’s rude to interrupt?”

“It’s gonna be sad.”

“My uncle watches this girl, waiting for the right moment to approach her. Next thing he knows, he gets drafted.”

“Sounds like a Hallmark original.”

“He things, ‘This is perfect. I’ll come back, I’ll have a career and I’ll have served my country. I’ll be worthy of her love.’ When he gets back, she’s gone. Moved away. No one knew where and he never saw her again.” Loki put his arm on Tony’s hand, “My uncle never told me much, but he did say was that if there’s something in your instincts that you feel is right, you have to go after it no matter what.” Loki paused, “So what do you say?”

Tony sighed, reaching into his wallet to take out one of his cards, flipping it over so that he could write his cellphone number on it, “Maybe dinner…wouldn’t be such a bad idea.”

“Dinner? We could sit together, maybe drive together.” Loki smirked, knowing that he had won.

“Just take the card.” Tony slid the paper across the counter.

“I might frame the card.”

“Just use the card.”

“I most definitely will, Tony.” Loki smirked, turning to leave.

“Hey,” Tony turned to get his attention.

“Hm?” Loki asked.

“That story about your uncle, is that true?”

Loki sighed, knowing he’d been found out, “Goodbye, Tony Stark.” Turning to leave, Loki walked by just as Harry had come back in and was getting ready to sit back down at the table with Peter.

“Mr. Laufeyson, hi.” Harry got out of his teachers way, Peter turned to look up at the both of them.

“Harry hello.” Loki looked down to see Peter at the table, “And Peter, what are you both doing here?”

Tony turned when he heard Loki say his son’s name, spotting his son at the other end of the small café.

“We came here after class for some coffee.” Peter explained.

“Well, enjoy you two, I’ll see you both in class tomorrow.” Loki turned, heading for the door after both boys said their goodbyes.

Tony watched as the boy Loki had called Harry sat down across from Peter. This must be that…hang out that he and Peter had been talking about.

“So,” Harry started, “What do you want for your birthday?” The boy smirked.

“Hey, you paid for coffee, you’re not allowed to get me a birthday present when I was supposed to be the one buying.” Peter argued.

God this felt wrong, there was no way he should be eavesdropping on his son on his first date.

“You get older you get a gift, those are the rules.” Harry argued, “Come on, anything you want, sky’s the limit.”

Peter hesitated for a minute, “How about a movie?”

“You wanna be in a movie? I don’t know if I can make that happen by tomorrow by sure.”

“I mean go seeing a movie,” Peter smiled, looking down at his coffee, “You and me, next weekend.”

“Yeah, I’d like that.” Harry smiled.

Tony had heard more than enough. He grabbed his things and made for the door, making sure to be quiet so that Peter wouldn’t see him.

Until his phone went off.

Normally Tony was proud of his ringtone, it being the theme song to Knight Rider. But when he saw his son’s head almost whip around to spot him standing almost 2 feet away, Tony cursed whoever had decided to call him right then and there.

“Dad?”

“Hey Peter.” Tony pulled his phone out of his pocket, seeing that it was the Inn calling him, “I better take this outside.”

Tony rushed out of the café while he answered his phone, telling whoever was on the other end of the phone to call him back later.

“Sorry, Harry. I’ll ugh, see you tomorrow.” Peter got up, picking up his bag.

“Yeah man, see you tomorrow. Happy Birthday!” Harry called out as Peter went to meet up with his dad.

-

Peter followed his dad out of the café and to their car, parked on the street corner.

“What were you doing here?” Peter asked, trying to figure out how much his dad had overheard of his talk with Harry. Had he been sitting there the entire time?

“I finished my class and getting coffee.” Tony explained as he quickly got his keys out of his jacket pocket, unlocking the car.

“Yeah, and you just so happened to be standing right behind me while I was asking Harry on a date.” Peter climbed into the passenger seat, slamming the door probably harder than was totally necessary.

“Very smooth by the way, I was proud of that.” Tony had started before Peter’s glare set in. Tony shut the door as he got in the car, “Right, you’re angry. I swear Peter, I was on my way out when I realized it was you sitting there.”

“On your way out? So you had been there the entire time?” Peter asked, his voice getting louder the more upset and humiliated he started to feel. He was having more and more trouble keeping his voice down, how many other kids parents sat in on their entire first date.

“I promise, I only noticed you two were even there after your friend sat back down.” Tony tried explaining himself, but he had to be careful not to say boyfriend, he didn’t want to embarrass his son even more than he already was.

“After he…” Peter hesitated, “After Mr. Laufeyson left?” Tony never, before this moment, hated how smart his son was. “You were on a date with my teacher?”

“I wasn’t a date!” Tony exclaimed loudly.

“How long have you been dating him?”

“It wasn’t a date, it was coffee!” Tony tried explaining again.

“And when were you planning on telling me? Your wedding?” Peter was getting more frustrated with every back and forth they had.

“No, by the rehearsal dinner at least.” Tony snarked, his voice softer as he joked, feeling guilty about how much this was obviously hurting Peter.

“He’s my teacher!” Peter was almost shouting now, “I’m not so behind in school that you need to date my teachers.”

“Peter, that isn’t what this was at all. I promise.” Tony knew that this had been a mistake from the beginning. He should have asked Peter, he shouldn’t have even considered saying yes until he asked his son how he felt about it.

“He teaches me everyday in a very small classroom with other kids who probably wont be high-fiving me when they find this out.”

“I know, and I told him that was one of the things I was worried about.” Tony tried explaining himself, not knowing how to save this.

“And?” Peter asked, not seeing the point if they were going to date anyways.

“He felt we could be discreet.” Tony tried, Peter looking out the passenger window, avoiding eye contact, “Are you mad?”

“Yes!” Peter turned to face him finally.

“Right. Of course you are.” Tony agreed. “Because I’m dating him?”

“Because you lied to me.” 

“I kept information from you.” Even Tony knew that was bull the second he said it.

“Information that I should have had.” Peter slouched back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Information that would’ve come out eventually, like the Iran-Contra scandal.”

“Oh, so you’re Oliver North.”

“No, I’m Fawn Hall.” Tony rebutted as though it were obvious he’d be the pretty one.

“Dad!” Peter glared at his dad before sighing and dropping his hands into his lap. “I just can’t believe that you didn’t tell me about this. Why wouldn’t you tell me?”

“I thought you were gonna take it bad, thank God I was wrong.” Tony leaned back in the driver’s seat, “Okay, listen, I’m sorry. I won’t date him, I promise.”

“I’m not saying that you can’t date him.” Peter admit softly, feeling guilty about freaking out. “It’s just – this is weird. There are a million guys in the world. Hell, you even like women. And you ended up with Mr. Laufeyson.”

“Believe me, I totally get how weird this is. The last thing I intended to do was date your teacher.” Tony held his hands up in mock surrender.

“I believe you.”

“I really like him, Peter.” Peter couldn’t help but to see the slight smile on his dad’s lips as he spoke, “I can’t help it. And it’s been a really long time since I felt like this. You can’t always control who you’re attracted to. Again, Jolie and Billy Bob, prime example.” Peter looked down at his hands, not wanting to look at his dad right now, “I know you don’t understand this right now but you will someday. You’ll meet some great person that will make your head all foggy and you won’t know what to do with yourself.”

Peter thought back to MJ and Harry. He’d been awkward and foggy when even trying to talk to MJ, but with Harry everything came naturally. Like they’d known each other for years and it’s only been a few weeks.

“I won’t keep secrets from you again, Peter. I promise.” Tony said just as Peter looked back at him.

“That’s okay, Dad. I get it.” Peter smiled half-heartedly. He had a feeling he had to do a lot more thinking on this whole triangle thing than he originally planned.

Tony nodded, putting the keys in the ignition and starting the car. They didn’t say a word to each other until they were half way home to Stars Hollow. Peter was slouched back in the passenger seat, his feet kicked up on the dashboard and tie undone. He’d been staring out the window the entire way home, like the empty fields and trees passing by were the most interesting thing in the world.

“You know, we never really settled the whole me-dating-your-teacher fiasco.” Tony turned to Peter, hoping not the start another argument. “I won’t go out with him if you don’t want me to.”

“You can go out with whoever you want.” Peter said, not even taking a second to think about it before answering.

“It’s whoever we want.” Tony tried smiling, hoping to coax a more concrete answer from him.

“Well I’m definitely not going out with him.” Peter turned, smiling, “Because that would just be really weird.”

Tony chuckled as he merged to get on the exit to Stars Hollow, “I mean it. I won’t see him if you don’t want me to.”

“Hmmm.” Peter hummed, seeming to think about it before going quiet.

“You know, if there’s anything that makes you feel uncomfortable big or small, then he’s out of there.”

“Good to know.” Peter nodded, turning back to the window. He watched as they rode through Stars Hollow on their way home.

Tony side-eyed his son, he swears he’s been spending too much time with his grandmother.

“Because, you know, it’s not like I’m desperate. I mean there are plenty of other people out there.” Tony wrinkled his brow, getting more agitated at the lack of answer from his son.

“Sure are.” Peter nodded again.

“And it’s not like I have to ask your permission. I mean, this is a courtesy thing.” Tony added as he pulled into their driveway.

“Okay.” Peter grabbed his backpack, taking his feet off the dashboard before getting out of the car.

Tony got out, shutting the door as he said, “You know, you can get back to me on this at any time.”

“I know where you are.” Peter called as he walked up to the front door.

Tony threw up his hands, scoffing as he made his way up to the house. Teenagers.

Peter turned around as he stood in the open doorway, “Hey do you think you could keep him out really late on Thursday night? I have this oral exam on Friday that I’d really love him to sleep through.”

“I’ll do my best.” Tony smiled as he followed Peter inside.


	6. Peter's Birthday Parties

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter is a confused bisexual teenager with no idea what the hell is even going on in his life anymore. But his dad and grandparents are getting along and that's all he needs.

“You shouldn’t have to go to school today.” Wanda said as she walked with Peter into the Stars & Stripes diner.

“I have to, I have a Latin test.” Peter answered, as he sat down at the counter, slinging his backpack off.

“Geez, you have a test every day,” Wanda took the counter seat right next to him, “When do you have time to learn anything to be tested on?”

Peter rolled his eyes as Steve came over in front of them. “Wrong table.”

“Since when is there a right table?” Peter asked confused.

“Since the coffee cake I made for you is at that table over there.” Steve pointed to a table behind the two teenagers. When they turned to look they saw a coffee cake and balloons set up waiting.

“You blew up balloons for me?” Peter asked, turning back to Steve with a smile on his face.

“Yup.”

“Thanks Steve.” Peter got down from the counter stool to join Wanda who was already sitting down and cutting herself a piece of the coffee cake.

At a table near the counter, Bucky was shaking his head, “You old softie.”

Natasha, sitting next to him chuckled into her tea as Steve rolled his eyes.

“Are you okay?” Wanda asked in between bites of the coffee cake. “You seem quiet today.”

“I’m just dreading this whole night.” Peter explained, cutting a piece of the cake for himself, “It’s bad enough that I have to see these stupid kids from Chilton every day but tonight, on my birthday? I’ve never even talked to most of them. I’ve only been going to this school for a couple weeks. They’re going to think I’m the biggest freak, that I need my grandma to get people to come to my party.”

“What did your dad say when you told him?” Wanda asked, knowing that Tony would definitely have put a stop to it if he’d known.

“I didn’t.”

“Why not? You and your dad tell each other everything.” Wanda smiled, she’d always been envious of Peter and his dad.

“Yeah that’s what I thought too.”

“What do you mean?” Wanda had confusion all over her face, and a bit of coffee cake on her lip.

“Nothing, it’s just…the pudding.”

“Of course, the pudding,” Wanda nodded, pretending to understand, “how could I forget about the pudding?”

“My grandma served us pudding the other night for dessert, and then she went shopping with my dad and they didn’t fight. I mean, they’re never getting along and now suddenly they’re getting along. And I knew that if I told my dad about the invite then he’d freak out and that would be the end of the pudding.”

“You know you can buy pudding.” Wanda joked as she smiled at Peter, “Unless you’re still too afraid to go into the market.”

“Ugggh, don’t remind me.” Peter groaned, still regret telling Wanda about what happened with MJ and his dad the other day.

“It is a little funny if you think about it. You’re normally all calm cool and collected. Now one girl says hi to you and says you should hang out and you’re suddenly straight out of a Goofy Movie.”

Peter put his head in his hands, leaning against the table. The other half of his coffee cake slice forgotten about, “I don’t know what took over me.”

“So you gonna ask her out?”

“I don’t think I could even if I wanted to.” Peter admit, dropping his hands to the table.

“But you do want to, right?” Wanda asked, going in for a second slice of cake.

“I…”Peter hesitated, Wanda raised an eyebrow, obviously noticing his pause, “I’m not sure.”

“But, I thought you liked her.”

“Well yeah but,” Peter hadn’t exactly told Wanda anything about Harry other than that the guy had helped him study. How was he supposed to suddenly say that they went on a pretend date before Peter got up the nerve to ask him on a real date, “I had kind of gotten coffee with one of the Chilton people.”

“So?” Wanda asked, not sure what that had to do with MJ.

“So, my dad had been at the coffee place and he heard me kind of set up a maybe date with the guy.”

“So you can’t ask out MJ because you’re already seeing someone else?” Wanda paused, “And don’t think I’m not going to make you dish out the details later, I need to live vicariously through you.”

“I’m not sure I’m really seeing him though.” Peter explained, “We got coffee as me thanking him for the study help but when he got the birthday invitation he insisted he pay, then asked what I wanted for my birthday. So, I said we should see a movie together.”

“Peter, I didn’t think you had it in you.” Wanda smirked, crossing her arms over her chest, “You got yourself a sugar daddy.”

“I did not!” Peter rolled his eyes.

“But he’s going to be at the party at your grandma’s tonight?”

“That’s how he made it seem, yeah.” Peter nodded, “Oh god, my dad is going to see him there isn’t he.”

Wanda nodded, “I’ll do a blessing for you when I get home.”

“It’s amazing that you’ve been secretly practicing pagan rituals for months and your dad still has no clue.” Peter shook his head, happy to see Wanda finally having a way to get out from under her dad’s thumb. He just wished she didn’t keep most of her paraphernalia at his house.

“I’m the definition of discretion.”

-

Walking into the foyer of Stark Manor, Tony and Peter looked around to see the dozens of servants working to get the house ready for the party.

“Geez, Mom. Leave some servants for the rest of the town.” Tony smiled as he greeted his mother, a garment bag slung over his shoulder.

“There he is,” Maria entirely ignored Tony’s comment, looking to Peter, “The birthday boy.”

“Hi grandma.” Peter smiled.

“Wow, you really went all out huh?” Tony continued looking around.

“Well, I wanted everything to be perfect for the special day. What do you think?” Maria gestured around her.

“I think Edith Wharton would have been proud and busy taking notes.” Tony tried not to sound too overly-sarcastic, “Here kid, go change.” Tony handed Peter the garment bag so he could get ready for the guests to arrive.

A short while later the house was bustling with people and servers carrying champagne and food around to guests, Maria was taking Peter around and introducing him to every one of her guests.

It wasn’t until possibly an hour later that Peter was able to get away, trying to find his dad in the crowd of people. It was only when Peter heard his grandpa talking that he slipped in beside him, listening to him talk business with his colleagues. 

“Those aren’t the terms we agreed on.” Howard said over a glass of brandy, talking with three other men.

“They most certainly are.” The man standing across from him insisted.

“Obadiah, you were at the same meeting as I was. We specifically spelled out a 5-year extension, not a 3-year.”

“I heard three.” Obadiah continued on.

“Hi grandpa.” Peter greeted before his grandfather could say anything else.

“Ah, Peter!” Howard put his arm around Peter’s shoulder, “Gentlemen, this is my grandson, Peter.”

“Happy Birthday, Peter.” Obadiah smiled, reaching into his suit jacket and pulling out an envelope, which most likely had money in it. Just like that, the other two men in the group took out envelopes, wordlessly handing them to Peter.

“I think we should get Dennis on the phone.” Obadiah continued before Peter could even say thank you.

“Fine, I’ve got a phone in my office.” Howard agreed, leading the men away and leaving Peter holding the envelopes. Before he could open one of them, Maria was at his side again.

“Peter, dear, there’s a whole bunch of your school friends in the library. Let’s go say hello.” Maria led him towards the other room and Peter felt himself getting nervous. Walking into the room he didn’t recognize a single person there.

“I think I should go find dad.” Peter tried turning to leave when Maria stopped him.

“Just go say hello first,” Maria insisted, taking the envelopes out of his hands, “I’ll hold those for you.”

As soon as Maria was walking back into the other room, Peter tried to leave before any of the other kids noticed him. Before he could get out to doorway though, he felt an arm be slung around his shoulders easily.

“Coming to greet me birthday boy?” Harry said casually, leading Peter into the room more.

“Hey, Harry.” Peter nervously looked around, checking for any sign of his dad.

“So, where’s my birthday kiss?” Harry smirked as he picked up a drink from the tray of a passing server and handing one to Peter before taking a second for himself.

“It’s my birthday, in case you forgot.”

“So does that mean I get to give you a kiss?”

“Not until you buy me dinner first.” Peter smiled, feeling more at ease in the busy party with a familiar face. Especially when his dad was nowhere in sight.

“Ah, Peter.” Peter instantly tensed at the sound of his grandfather’s voice, “Who’s your friend?”

“Harry Osborn, sir.” Harry smiled, taking his arm off Peter’s shoulders so that he could hold it out for a handshake.

“Osborn.” Howard repeated, taking the young man’s hand, “Are you of relation to Norman Osborn?”

“That’s my father, sir.”

“Well, I’ve done business with Norman for years. He’s a fine man.”

“That he is.”

“Peter,” Howard turned to his grandson, “You have very good taste in friends, I approve.”

“Howard,” the same businessman from before called Howard into the next room, “I’ve got Dennis on the phone and he heard the same thing I did.”

Leaving the two teens to their business, Howard walked away, “Well, I suppose one wrong man can always find a friend.”

“He likes me.” Harry leaned in to Peter, smirking as he whispered.

“He’s drunk.” Peter shook his head, going to sit down in one of the couches in the library.

“If that’s drunk then maybe I should get him some meth, then he’ll really approve.” Harry joked as he sat down next to Peter. The two of them settling into their comfortable conversations and inside jokes.

Peter hadn’t even realized that half the kids in the room were now sitting around with them, laughing as they all talked back and forth. He didn’t even notice that their duo had turned into a party. He didn’t know the names of almost any of these kids, except for maybe Kate Bishop and America Chavez who each downed a fourth glass of champagne before ‘sneaking’ out to go make out in Kate’s car.

“Come outside with me for a second?” Peter didn’t even realize he had said it before he led Harry out the backdoor of the library and out onto the patio. He and Harry were the only two out there, it being too chilly to have any of the party outside.

“Somethin’ on your mind birthday boy?” Harry asked, taking a sip of champagne, leaning against the brick half-wall lining the patio.

Peter hopped up onto the wall to sit, leaning back as he looked inside at the party, “Just wanted some air.” Peter hesitated for a moment, “And to ask you something.”

Intrigued, Harry put down his champagne flute, turning to stand in front of Peter and placing his hand on the brick on either side of his friend as he looked up at him, “I’m listening.”

Peter wasn’t used to looking down at Harry, the other boy being just a bit taller he either had to look up at him a bit or was eye-level. He really had no idea why he noticed it, he just knew that he liked being taller.

“I’m, uh,” He was suddenly having trouble forming the words.

Harry smiled, picking up the champagne glass again to finish it off as he waited for Peter to go on.

“I’m having another birthday party. It’s going to be in Stars Hollow actually, at my house.”

“Trying to weasel another birthday present out of me?” Harry smirked.

“More like add to it. You come to my second party tomorrow and we add dinner to the movie.”

Harry smirked as he nodded, “I seem to remember someone saying earlier that dinner had to be bought before a birthday kiss could be given.”

“Consider it an I.O.U.” Peter had no idea where this sudden confidence had come from, he was expecting to feel foggy like his dad said. Like he wouldn’t know what to do with himself. But his body seemed to be acting on its own. His hands knew exactly where to go and his head knew the perfect angle to tilt as he leaned in and kissed Harry quickly. His lips were warm in the chilly night air, and he tasted like champagne. When he pulled away, Peter had to lick his lips.

-

“Hey mom, have you seen Peter?” Tony had been looking everywhere for him. The last he’d seen of him he was being whisked away to a fantasyland of money filled envelopes and champagne flutes clinking, looking freaked out and nervous at being around so many new people all at once.

“In the library, Dear.” Maria smiled as she turned to face him, reaching out to adjust his tie. “He was with his classmates.”

“Classmates?” Tony had no idea that kids from Peter’s school were invited, “Did you ask him before inviting these kids from school mom?”

“I assumed they were his friends, he seemed fine last I checked on him.” Maria answered, not seeing the big deal. Peter had been in the center of a group of kids all laughing and talking with one another, there was no reason to be so worried.

“Well your fine and my fine are very different.” Tony explained as his mom pulled her hands away from him.

“Well go see for yourself, Tony.”

Tony rolled his eyes before heading over to the library. And true to his mother’s word there was a group of kids gathered around the couch laughing together and relaxing. The only thing missing was Peter.

Going to look for his son, Tony turned to leave. On his way out the other door of the library, Tony caught a glance out the large floor to ceiling windows, seeing Peter out on the porch. He had an empty champagne flute next to him and his lips locked with another boy. Tony immediately recognized him as the boy from the café the day before.

Feeling his stomach go queasy, Tony turned and instinctively started climbing the stairs to go up to the second floor and make his way towards his old bedroom. Pacing back and forth, he didn’t realize how long he was up there when his mother came in.

“What on earth are you doing up here, Anthony? You’re being awfully rude to our guests.” Maria held her head high, her arms crossed in front of her.

“Oh, back to Anthony then? No Tony?” He shook his head as he sat down on the bed.

“What has gotten into you?” Maria asked, not sure where this suddenly came from.

“I just saw Peter.”

“Yes, I’d certainly hope you see him every day seeing as how he’s your son.” Maria snarked and Tony scoffed. He sure as hell knew where he got it.

“I mean, that I just saw my son making out with another boy out on the porch.” Tony explained further, getting up again, not able to stay in one spot for too long. He couldn’t help but to hear his mother sigh, “What?”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You sighed.”

Before saying anything, Maria uncrossed her arms, smoothing out her dress. It was a habit Tony had long since picked up on, a sign that she was choosing her words very carefully, “He certainly takes after you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Tony asked, returning to pacing.

“It means,” Maria started explaining, he couldn’t help but to notice that she was making an extra effort to keep her voice level, “That he can’t get another boy pregnant…Pick your battles, Anthony, no matter how protective you want to be.”

Stopping in his tracks, Tony turned to face her. “What?”

“You heard me, Anthony.”

“No, I did. I just-“ He wasn’t sure what to do with that. Fighting he could do. His mother trying to help because she was concerned wasn’t something that was par for the course, “That’s not what I was expecting.”

“Well,” She smoothed her dress again. “It seems more than Peter is full of surprises tonight.” She turned and walked down to the party, leaving her son still stunned in place.

-

Maria, ever the diligent hostess, was standing at the door, saying her goodbyes to the guests as they left, each one getting a personal touch to it. 

Peter and Tony had gathered their coats and Peter was waiting in the foyer as his dad was saying goodbye to his grandpa.

“Well, did you enjoy the party?” Maria asked, finally getting a moment alone with Peter.

“Yeah grandma, it was great. Thank you.” Peter smiled, he hadn’t really enjoyed much of the party, except for a few choice moments. But it did make it all worthwhile when his grandma hugged him.

“I’m glad, sweetheart. And that Harry Osborn is a charming one, isn’t he?” Maria smiled fondly at him.

Peter felt his heart stop beating in his chest, “Oh well…” He had no idea what he was trying to say but was cut off when Maria winked at him and held a single manicured finger up to her lips, shushing softly as if to say it was their secret.

“I’m happy you had a goodnight, dear. Now why don’t I go see where your father went off to.” Maria gave him one final hug before going off somewhere, leaving Peter in the entryway to restart his own heart in peace.

“Well, Peter,” Peter almost jumped at the sound of his grandpa’s voice, “I hope you had a good time.”

“Yeah, I did.” Peter nodded.

“Now, I know that your grandmother has already bought you a gift and signed my name to it. That was part of our agreement when we got married.” Howard smiled as though he just told an inside joke. Reaching into his suit jacket, he pulled out an envelope, “However, I feel this occasion calls for something a little extra.” Handing the envelope over to Peter, Howard patted him on the shoulder, “Spend it on something fun.”

“Oh, grandpa.” Peter took the envelope in hand, not sure what to say.

“You’re a good kid, Peter. Happy Birthday.” With a final goodnight, Howard went off as Tony entered with his mother at his side.

“Now you boys should get going, you’ve got quite a drive ahead of you.”

Tony nodded, “Peter, why don’t you go outside and help that guy out there get all the presents into the car.”

“Thank you again, Grandma.” Peter said as he walked out the front door.

“Mom,” Tony turned to face his mother, “We’re having a party at our house tomorrow. If you and dad are available then I think Peter would like having you both there.”

Maria nodded, “I’d like that very much, Tony. Thank you.”

Grabbing the knob to the front door, Tony paused, turning to face his mother again, “And uh thanks. For the shock therapy.”

“Drive safe, Tony. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

-

With the living room crowded, Peter was sitting in the center of a big circle of people, opening up presents as they came flooding in. He had the camera his grandparents had gotten him on a strap around his neck, taking pictures of everything he could.

Tearing open the red and gold wrapping paper on the gift from his dad, Peter looked up at his dad, “No!”

“Well if you don’t like it I can take it back!” Tony joked as Peter ripped the rest of the wrapping off of the laptop box.

Maria, with a glass of iced tea in her hands, leaned in to Tony on the couch next to him, “We still haven’t talked about the car.”

“Because he’s not getting one.” Tony replied, happy that his mother could be here. His father had to work, but one grandparent was better than none.

“We’ll see.”

“Okay, okay, me next.” More people kept handing Peter presents when Tony felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning, he looked to Clint who was motioning for the kitchen.

Getting up from the couch, Tony followed into the kitchen. “You didn’t say your mom was coming.”

“It was kind of a last minute thing. We were getting along last night after getting along shopping for Peter and we’ve been getting along since she got here.” Tony explained as Clint was continuing to put more food onto platters. 

“When was the last time she was here?”

“Never.” Tony refilled the drink pitchers while he spoke.

“Not once?” Clint looked up from what he was doing, making sure he heard right and his earing aid wasn’t acting up.

“Not since we moved in. I mean, they’d come visit us on occasion when Peter was a baby and we lived at the Inn, but they’ve never been here.”

“That’s some heavy stuff, man. Is Peter happy she’s here?”

“Through the roof.” Tony couldn’t help but smile. He’d never thought that being close with his parents would be so great.

“Tony,” Maria came walking into the kitchen, “I’ve just tried some of those hors d’oeurves and they’re unbelievable. Who is your caterer?”

“Clint.” Tony gestured to Clint, who was wiping off his hands with a dishtowel.

“Hi. Clint Barton, pleasure to meet you.”

“Clint’s the chef at the Inn, Mom.” Tony explained before popping some food into his mouth.

“Darling, you are very talented.”

“Thank you, I’m always glad to meet a fan.” Clint smiled cheekily as the kitchen timer went off, turning to remove the pan from the oven.

“I see why you and my son are friends.” Maria commented on his joke, turning to head back into the living room, but not before adding another appetizer to her plate.

“So, you see that kid Peter invited?” Tony turned back to Clint, talking about Harry who was sitting on the floor next to Wanda and Pietro as they helped Peter unwrap his growing mountain of presents from everyone in town.

“Yeah, he’s the one from Chilton right? What about him?” Clint carefully placed the items from the hot pan onto a serving dish as he spoke.

“His name is Harry, I saw him and Peter kissing last night on the patio at my mother’s place.” Tony explained.

“Yikes. And you’re not supposed to know?”

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to know anymore. I freaked out when I saw it just to have my mother come find me and tell me to pick my battles.” Tony took a sip of his lemonade as he sat down at the kitchen table, watching the steam come up from the fresh dish.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“She said ‘he can’t get another boy pregnant’ I guess she meant that he’ll tell me when he’s ready. Don’t push too hard and have him end up with a kid at 16 like me.”

Clint nodded, “Makes sense. She’s probably had a lot of time to think of what she could have done differently with you.”

“Hate to say it but she’s got the experience on this one, I’m going to listen to her. See how it goes.”

“Probably smart.”

“I just hate that he didn’t tell me, you know? We tell each other everything and here he is keeping his first kiss from me.” Tony sighed as he slumped his shoulders.

“How do you know it’s his first?” Clint asked, mostly just to rile Tony up.

“Don’t say that, he’s still a goofy looking kindergartener missing his two front teeth.” Tony groaned, not wanting his son to grow up as fast as he was.

-

“Okay on three!” Clint yelled out to the party crowd as he brought in a cake, Peter’s face airbrushed onto the top of it. “One, two…”

As the crowd around them sang, Peter, Wanda, and Harry all laughed at the ridiculous looking cake. As the song finished up Peter snapped a picture before blowing out his candles to cheers and applause. 

“Okay, attention, attention please.” Tony stood up, taking his glass up with him, “This is a very serious moment.”

As the crowd went silent, he continued on, holding his glass up in a toast, “Two priests, a rabbi, and a duck walk into…” Tony was cut off by the laughter around him.

“Dad.”

“Alright, I’m kidding, I’m kidding.” Tony laughed as he put his hand on his son’s shoulder where the teens were sitting around the coffee table, “I would like to propose a toast, to the one thing in my life that is always good, that’s always sweet, and without whom I would have no reason to get up in the morning.”

Everyone awed, holding up there glasses to Tony as he finished, “To my pal, Peter. Cheers.”

“Cheers.” The room repeated back, a few saying a “Happy Birthday” here and there.

“And in honor of the birthday boy, I now invite you all to help me eat his face.” Tony gestured down to the birthday cake.

“And you may have the first cut.” Clint came over and handed Peter a spatula and paper plates.

“There’s something very strange about hacking into my own head.” Peter joked as he cut right into his own frosting face.

-

“Okay don’t panic.” Clint came to talk to Tony in the living room again.

“Good opening line. What’s wrong?” Tony asked.

“We’re out of ice.”

“How can we be out of ice? We had a ton of ice. It was like a penguin habitat in there.” Tony exclaimed, gesturing to the kitchen.

“Hey, I don’t know how it happened. I just know that it happened. And somehow we have to deal with it.” Clint gestured between the two of them.

“Well I will go and get some then.” Tony sighed as he made his way to the front entrance, getting his keys off the table while Clint went back to the kitchen. Just as Tony was getting his coat the front door opened.

“Oh my god. You’re a vision!” Tony smiled as Steve came in, carrying two big bags of ice. “Clint, we have ice!”

Clint poked his head in to see what was going on before smiling and shouting, “Hallelujah!” as he went back to the kitchen.

“How did you know?” Tony asked, throwing his coat back on the hook.

“Well, a good rule of thumb is that you can never have too much ice.” Steve gave a sideways grin and Tony led him into the kitchen.

“Oh, you’re the best!”

Turning, Tony saw Maria standing in the door way, a freshly refilled iced tea in hand. “Oh, Mom.” Tony gestured to Steve, “This is my friend, Steve.”

“How do you do?” Steve asked with a polite nod.

“Fine, thank you.” Maria smirked, “Nice to meet you, Steve.”

“Likewise, ma’am.” Steve followed Tony into the kitchen.

-

A group of people were all sitting around the coffee table, trading old stories about Peter with each other.

“I remember the first time your dad took you to my shop.” Bucky said from his spot on the loveseat, Natasha sitting on the right arm of the couch next to him, “You didn’t know my name so you just called me Mr. Library. How old was he when that happened?” Bucky turned to Tony to ask.

“I think maybe seven.” Tony smiled as answered, Peter sitting on the couch between him and his grandma.

“Okay, new story?” Peter asked, trying to get the embarrassment over and done with. He regret putting down his new camera because now he didn’t have anything to play with as he sat there in the middle of his friends’ stories.

“I remember for Halloween one year you both came to me to make your costumes,” Jan’s ever bubbly smile was bright on her face as she sat in her husband’s lap on the other end of the loveseat. “You told me you wanted your dad to be a rocket ship so that way you could be an astronaut and piggyback on him all night getting your candy.”

“Right because his feet would hurt too much every year.” Tony pat Peter on the back as the boy put his head in his hands.

“I’m still crushed that you never took me up on dance lessons.” Natasha smiled, her hand over her heart for dramatics.

“Yeah because I would have sucked.” Peter argued.

Natasha shook her head, “I can tell, you have a true gift.”

“When you were 6 years old I remember you found out the tree in the town square was called a weeping willow.” Steve explained, “You made your dad sit with you for over an hour because you wanted to cheer it up.”

Tony watched as Maria slipped away from the stories, making her way up the stairs of the small house. Following behind her, he found her in his bedroom, a quilt in her hands.

“Jan made that for me.” Tony supplied, explaining the patched together mishmash of cloth while also announcing himself, “It’s made of Peter’s old baby clothes.”

“That was certainly kind of her.” Maria smiled, putting the blanket down on Tony’s bed again. “All of your friends seem to have stories about Peter.”

“They’ve all helped me out in one way or another. Especially when I told them not to or didn’t ask.” Tony agreed, “They’re all great people, Peter looks up to all of them.”

“This Natasha, she teaches dance?” Maria asked.

Tony wondering what his mom was getting at, nodded, “Among other things.”

“And the man with the ice.”

“Steve.” Tony supplied as he saw his mother start looking around the room.

“How long have you been seeing him?”

“S-steve? I’m not seeing Steve.” Tony chuckled as he sat down on his bed, “He’s just a friend.”

“Mm-hmm.” Maria hummed accusingly, turning to face Tony with a seemingly all-knowing look.

“Mom, I swear. Steve keeps me in coffee. And nothing else.”

“He seems to like you.”

Tony couldn’t help but to smile at that, holding back a small laugh, “And you’re judging this by what?”

“By the way he looked at you.”

“Which was how?”

“Like you were about to give him a lap dance.”

Tony laughed, something almost like a giggle coming out, “Mom, he did not look at me like that.”

“You’re pleased.” Maria sat down on the bed next to her son.

“What?” Tony asked, entirely confused.

“You smiled. You’re pleased that he looked at you like a porterhouse steak.”

“I’m smiling because you’re crazy and that’s what you do to crazy people to keep them calm.”

“Of course, dear.” Maria stood back up, looking at the pictures around the room. She picked up one off of Tony’s dresser, seeing Peter, maybe 4-years-old with a tiny backpack on.

“That was his first day of kindergarten.” Tony said, standing up and walking over to his closet. Pulling down an old shoebox, he brought it over to his mom, “I always made two copies of any pictures I took of Peter. If you’d like any you can take them.”

Maria put down the picture, patting Tony on the shoulder as he flipped through some of the old photographs. Maria picked one up, seeing Peter not much younger than he was now with a cast on his arm and a broken half of a skateboard in his other hand.

“What’s this?” Maria asked, holding it out for Tony to see.

“Oh, that’s when Peter broke his arm.” Tony nodded.

“He broke his arm?” Maria put down the photo, turning to Tony as he answered.

“Yeah, three years ago riding his skateboard. A kid at school, Flash, thought it was funny to throw a stick right into Peter’s way. He flipped right off the board.”

“I never knew he broke his arm.” Tony couldn’t help but to notice the solemn look on his mother’s face.

“It was no big deal, Mom. The school took care of that kid and Peter was fine in two months. If he had been really sick, you would have known.”

“Yes, well.” Maria took another look around, “You know, you could get a maid in here once a week to clean up a little.”

“I like it cluttered.” Tony smiled.

“You can’t even find the bed.”

“Yes I can. It’s the thing I crash in to on the way to the closet.”

Maria nodded as she turned to the door, “I’d better be going. A long drive.”

“It was nice that you came tonight, Mom.” Tony said before she managed to leave, “It meant a lot…To Peter. Really.”

“Well, he is my grandson after all.” Maria smiled, “I should be here.”

“I totally agree.” Tony nodded his agreement happily.

Maria head back downstairs, making sure to hug Peter goodbye on her way out and saying goodbye to his friends

-

“Next year we’re going to a McDonald’s with one of those slides and that’s it.” Tony was at the kitchen sink as he washed dishes and cups.

“The party was a hit.” Clint happily said, bringing any left over food in from the living room and putting it away for later.

“Yeah and we’ll be eating onion dip for breakfast for a week.”

“You know, you mix that dip with some ground turkey and some garlic and it’s really not too bad.” Clint explained, putting some food into their fridge.

“Hey, I’m not looking for a recipe.” Tony called over his shoulder, reminding Clint who he was talking to.

“Reflex, sorry. Alright, I’m gonna go finish checking the living room.”

-

“You really didn’t have to get me anything.” Peter explained as MJ handed him a small, neatly wrapped box with a gold ribbon on it. They were standing underneath the big oak tree outside of his house.

“Those are the rules, you get older and you get a gift.” MJ explained, a slight blush on her face, “Besides, you’ve been really nice to me since I moved here and all. I wanted to thank you.”

Peter opened the box to reveal a thin leather strap with a simple medallion on it, the perfect size to sit on his wrist, “Oh wow, this is really cool.”

“You like it?” MJ looked up to Peter expectantly.

“Y-yeah, it’s amazing.” Peter immediately felt his nerves come back to him as he looked back up to MJ’s dazzling smile, “T-thank you.”

“I’m glad you like it,” MJ took the bracelet out of his hand, “Here” She explained as she started putting it on him.

Peter was having a hard time forming words again. He had made a date with Harry, hell he’d kissed the guy. He shouldn’t be feeling this way about someone else when he’d already chosen Harry.

“I better get going, it’s getting late.” MJ turned to go, “Happy Birthday Peter.”

“Uh, thanks MJ.” Peter managed to answer her when she was half way to his driveway. Heading back into the house, Peter went into the living room and flopped down onto the couch and catching his breath. He always felt like he couldn’t catch his breath around MJ.

“What’s up with you?” 

“Huh?” Peter looked up to see Clint, shoveling piles of wrapping paper into a garbage bag.

“You look like you just ran a lap around the house.” Clint explained, motioning to Peter’s lack of breath and red cheeks.

“It’s uh, just cold out.” Peter tried explaining.

“Yeah, sure. And Bruce will bring me what I ordered tomorrow.” Clint rolled his eyes.

-

Lying on his bed later that night, Peter was on his new laptop, scrolling through the pictures he’d taken on his new camera. There were pictures of the food, the cake, and plenty with him, his dad, Wanda, Harry, one with MJ, Clint in the kitchen with frosting across his face. When he came to one that he had no idea was taken.

It must have been Wanda because it was taken from a spot on the ground, on the opposite side of the coffee table from where he saw himself sitting on the couch. He was sat between his grandma and dad, a candid shot of them talking casually. As though this wasn’t the first birthday he’d spent with his grandma since he was born.

Saving the picture, Peter printed it out and decided he’d get a frame for it sometime. Maybe even send a copy of it to his grandma.


	7. Supermarket Slut

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter is really confused and Mary-Jane being so upfront about her feelings isn't helping. Meanwhile Tony gets a voicemail from Loki and the town is about to get hit with the first big snowfall of the season. Meanwhile a battle reenactment has the Steve, Bucky, and Sam angered about how the town honors its history, but not the veterans and active duty in modern day.

“Every other store in town has fall decorations.” Nick Fury was not only Town Mayor, he was the owner of several buildings around town, including the market. He kept a strict policy on decorations and color schemes on the buildings around town, making sure that it kept its historical and charming appeal.

“Well, hurrah for the mob mentality.” Steve supplied, not turning to look at Fury, finishing up writing a customer’s bill as he put it down on their table.

“It’s a few streamers and a paper turkey. You tell me how could it hurt to have a paper turkey.” Nick was continuing, trying to get Steve to fall into line like the other business owners in town.

Tony and Peter rolled their eyes as they sat down at the counter.

“No turkeys, no squash, no pumpkins,” Steve listed off as he brought an empty plate off of a table and with him to the counter, picking up and cleaning the plates left by another customer, “Nothing colored orange.”

“Okay, no orange.” Fury stood on the other side of the counter, “We can use other colors to get this place suitable for the season.

“Excuse me,” Tony interrupted loudly, “Could we get some coffee please?”

“And a muffin?” Peter tacked on.

“Toasted?” Tony smiled until he saw Steve making no move to help them.

“This is the Autumn Festival,” Nick continued on, ignoring the two men at the counter, “And your diner is in the middle of town. You have to decorate.”

“I don’t have to do anything except serve food.” Steve exclaimed.

“And coffee!” Tony exclaimed loudly, jokingly smacking his hand against the counter.

“And muffins!” Peter agreed.

“Fury, I’m tired of having this conversation with you,” Steve leaned over the counter, picking up the little pilgrim figures that Fury had tried to sneak onto the counter top, “Every single year we go through this.”

“Yoo-hoo!” Tony tried again.

“You have lived in Stars Hollow all your life Steven, it’s time you became one of us.” Fury pointed at Steve accusingly, fed up with having to put up with Steve’s attitude.

“Sorry, I guess my pod’s defective.” Steve rolled his eyes as he took the dirty plates into the kitchen to be cleaned.

Tony whistled loudly, the other customers’ heads in the diner turning to look at him.

“You’re just being selfish, Steve.” Nick insisted, trying to place the small pilgrims onto the counter again, behind the register.

“And they still don’t notice.” Peter shook his head.

“I can’t take this anymore,” Tony got off of his stool, dropping his money onto the table and going behind the counter himself.

“We’re talking about the spirit of fall,” Nick continued as Steve came back out.

“What kind of muffin do you want?” Tony asked his son as he poured each of them a coffee to-go.

“Blueberry.”

“You know where you can stick your spirit of fall?” Steve started as Tony lifted the lid off the tray of muffins, taking a pair of tongs and handing them to Tony, “Here, don’t use your hands.” Steve reached over the cash register, practically throwing the pilgrims back at Mayor Fury.

“You’re not taking me seriously.” The older man insisted, getting more and more frustrated with Steve,

“What gave you that idea?” Tony couldn’t help but to smirk at Steve, he’d never seen him be this much of a deviant. “No tip?” Steve jokingly said as he held up the cash Tony had left on the counter as the two walked to the door.

“Here’s a tip, serve your customers.” Tony smiled as he walked out.

“Nick, I swear to god.” Steve returned his attention to Fury as the man put the pilgrims onto the counter again, “If you pull those pilgrims out of your pocket one more time!”

Tony shut the door to the diner loudly as he walked out.

-

Peter had just gotten off the bus back from school when he went into the market. His dad had forgotten that they needed to buy soda and were all out at home.

Going down the aisle to get some coke, Peter saw MJ setting up a display with Nick Fury by her side, “I’m not so sure that it looks like the Mayflower.” The girl smiled to Peter as Fury placed the two small pilgrim figures onto the display. Peter couldn’t help but to chuckle, the man was obsessed with details and keeping the town on theme.

“We’ll leave it like this, maybe we’ll change it tomorrow.”

“Whatever you say, sir.” MJ smiled before walking over to Peter, “Pretty thirsty huh?”

Peter smiled, a single 2-liter bottle of soda was in his hand, “Don’t want to get dehydrated on the treacherous walk down the road to my house.”

MJ giggled, “Then how about a pop for the road?”

“A pop?” Peter asked teasingly.

“Awe not you too, everyone I say ‘pop’ to thinks it’s weird.” MJ smiled.

“Well I’m sorry, I just thought you were from New York, not nowheresville Minnesota.” Peter joked as he followed MJ over to the soda cooler.

Reaching her hand in, MJ pulled out two cans before hiding them behind her back, “Okay, guess what soda is in each hand and it’s yours.”

“Okay, in this hand you have,” Peter leaned in to gesture to MJ’s hand just for the girl to lean in and give him a kiss.

Pulling away, MJ looked up to Peter, a slight smile and blush on her face. Peter looking down at her couldn’t think of anything to say other than a quick, “Thank you.” Before he turned and nearly ran to leave the store.

Peter didn’t stop running until he found his way to Wanda and Pietro’s house. Knocking insistently on the front door, Wanda opened it and Peter barged in. 

“Peter, what’s wrong?” Looking him up and down curiously, Wanda had no idea why her friend would be here looking so frantic.

“I got kissed.” Peter explained as Wanda shut the door, “A-and I, and I shoplifted.” Peter held up the bottle of soda still in his hand.

“Are you serious? Who kissed you?” Wanda asked, her and Peter starting walk towards the stairs.

“Mary-Jane.” 

“The new girl?” Wanda asked a huge smile on her face, “You got the new girl? Oh my god!”

“It happened so fast, I was just standing there,”

“Where?” Wanda interrupted, wanting to know every detail.

“Fury’s market.”

“She kissed you inside the market?”

“In aisle 4,” Peter explained excitedly as the two walked up the stairs.

“By the ant spray?”

“Yes!”

“That’s a good aisle.” Wanda happily exclaimed, just as excited as Peter was.

“What defines a good aisle?” Peter asked confusedly as they reach the top of the stairs.

“An aisle where you get kissed by a cute red-head is a good aisle.” Wanda explained, throwing her hands up as though it was obvious. 

“God, I can’t breathe! I can’t believe they kissed me.”

“Who kissed you?” Wanda’s father asked, turning to head down the stairs as the two were walking to Wanda’s bedroom.

“Uh, the Lord, Dad.” Wanda explained as she urged Peter into her bedroom.

“Hm,” Erik hummed as he went downstairs.

“Come on, I want to hear everything.” Wanda led Peter into her room, hoping for at least a little privacy even though Erik would check on them in exactly 5 minutes to make sure her door was open.

“I went into the store and she offered me a soda,” Peter started explaining everything, “She put two behind her back and asked me to pick one, then she kissed me.”

“God, I am so jealous!” Wanda exclaimed as she flopped on to her bed, Peter sitting down on the trunk at the end and dropping his backpack onto the floor, “That’s it, I need dumb ugly friends so my life can be the exciting one!”

“Oh no.”

“What?” Wanda sat back up on her bed, “What oh no?”

“I have a date with Harry.” Peter explained as the realization hit him.

“Wait what?” Wanda asked, “The Chilton guy from the party the other night? You’re dating him?”

“I-I don’t know what we are.” Peter shook his head, “We went out for coffee together once and my dad ended up being in the café and he and I had this whole big freak out at each other after I asked Harry out to a movie next weekend.”

“Your dad was in the café that you and Harry decided to go to on your date?” Wanda was trying to keep up, it was hard when both Peter and his dad spoke so fast.

“But then I did ask him out on a date and my dad was standing right behind me when I did. Then at my birthday party Harry came with the other Chilton kids and he and I ended up kissing.” Peter was rushing through his explanation.

“And now MJ just kissed you even though you have a date planned with Harry?”

“Exactly and now I don’t know what to do because I like them both.” Peter explained as he felt his anxiety building.

“So why don’t you ask your dad for advice?”

“No!” Peter shook his head.

“What? Why not?” Wanda was getting confused again.

“I can’t tell my dad about Harry and I kissing, we already had a huge fight after we left the café.” Peter explained, not wanting things to get ugly.

“About you and Harry? Tony wouldn’t get angry over that.”

Peter shook his head, “No, it wasn’t about me and Harry it was about him being there and eavesdropping on us.”

“Well then you’re fine, Tony won’t be mad or anything.”

“Yeah,” Peter nodded, standing up, “You’re right, Wanda.”

“I always am,” The girl smirked as she leaned back on her bed’s headboard.

“I gotta go tell him.” Peter picked up his backpack, ready to head out the door.

“Call me later!” Wanda called after him.

-

“Dad?” Peter called out as he walked into the house.

“Kitchen!” Tony called out.

Walking into the kitchen, Peter saw all of the fridges contents spread out around the floor, his dad leaning into the fridge with his toolbox next to him.

“What’s going on?” Peter asked, ducking his head into the fridge, looking at where his dad was working.

“That low pitched sound that happened when we opened the door,” Tony started explaining and Peter nodded, remembering the irritating sound from last week, “It’s now a much higher and constant screeching noise. I think it gained some confidence.”

“Um, do you have a minute dad?”

Pulling himself up, Tony looked up to Peter, “Everything alright?”

“Uh yeah,” Peter put his backpack down at the kitchen table, pulling out a seat, “Well, no actually.” Standing up, Tony started picking up the food and putting stuff back into the fridge.

“Okay, so what’s wrong?” Tony asked, trying not to sound worried.

“Well, um.” Peter played with one of the buttons on his uniform jacket, “At grandma’s house the other night, Harry and I had kind of snuck off from the party.”

Tony nodded, showing that he was following Peter. Silently he was thanking his mom for, once again, being right.

“I kissed him out on the patio.”

“Yeah?” Tony sat down at the kitchen table, “How was it?”

Peter hesitated, “N-no lecture on kissing?”

“Why? Did you do it wrong?” Tony asked.

“No, at least I don’t think.” Tony regret saying it as soon as he saw how worried Peter was.

“How was it?” Tony tried asking again.

“It was, actually really nice.” Peter said hesitantly, “But um, I was at the market earlier and uh,”

“Mary-Jane.” Tony nodded, realizing what Peter’s problem was.

“Yeah,” Peter looked down at the table, sighing, “She kissed me.”

“In the market?” Tony asked now confused, “I didn’t know that the two of you were like that.”

“We aren’t.” Peter said exasperated, “But she gave me a bracelet for my birthday and now she kissed me, I know I need to put a stop to one of them but I don’t know who. I don’t get that foggy queasy feeling when I’m with Harry, but it comes so naturally when I’m around him that I end up getting just as freaked out. How do you do it?”

“Do what?” Tony asked, not sure what Peter was asking exactly.

“This whole dating thing. I mean, I’ve watched you when you flirt with people. You have a comeback for everything. You make them laugh, you smile right.”

“I smile right?” Tony asked. He couldn’t help but to smile, knowing that Peter was only saying this because he was worried.

“And then you walk away, and they stand there amazed like they have no idea what just happened to them.”

“That’s because I just stole their wallet.”

“I’ll never be able to do that.” Peter sighed again, leaning against the table, “Math I can do, but dating forget it. I’m a total spaz.”

“Listen, the talking part, you just get used to,” Tony started explaining, hoping that he could help with some of Peter’s anxieties, “And the leaving-them-amazed part, with your brain, I’m not worried. You’ll do fine. Just give yourself a little time.”

“But you’ve gotta have some kind of secrets right?”

“Eyeliner.” Tony exclaimed without a second thought.

Peter stopped, not sure if his dad was joking, “What?”

“Eyeliner. Subtle enough to not bring too much attention but still make your eyes look even better than they already are. Girls for some reason love the eyeliner and most guys like the way it looks but don’t know enough about makeup to know why.”

“You’re…serious?” Peter asked, not entirely sure what the hell just happened.

“Absolutely, and an eyelash curler. Long and curled lashes make a lot of difference.”

“That’s it?” Peter asked, “That’s all?”

“Hey, you asked for my secrets. So I gave you a secret.” Tony shrugged, leaning back in his chair, “Just be you, Peter. The rest will come naturally.”

“A secret? Does that mean there’s more?”

“Maybe when you’re older.” Tony joked as he stood up, going to finish working on the refrigerator. “Though I’m not too sure I should tell you anything you supermarket slut.”

“It was one kiss!” Peter threw up his hands.

“Yeah but by the time that gets to Natasha it’s a scene from ‘9 and a half weeks’.” Tony smiles, as Peter grabs his stuff.

“I’m doing homework.”

-

“Steve, the food is great.” Natasha smiled up at him as she took a bite of the crepe that Steve had just put in front of her, “but you know what would make it even better?”

“Let me guess, some fall festival decorations.” Steve rolled his eyes as he finished writing out their bill, noticing how Bucky was laughing into his sandwich.

“Well, food without ambiance isn’t really food is it?” Natasha insisted before taking another bite.

“More tea Natasha?” Steve asked, pointedly ignoring her.

“No, thank you. It’s too depressing in here for tea.”

“You know that Fury is a total head case right?” Steve started going behind the counter, walking away from the pair.

“Yeah but at least he’s a festive head case.” Natasha smirked as she reached over the table to take some of Bucky’s tea. 

“Just eat.” Steve came over to Tony’s table, his coffee pot in hand, “Coffee?”

Tony was looking out the window of the diner, tapping the end of his fork against the table as he watched Peter and Wanda helping man the table to collect donated foods for the holidays. When Tony didn’t answer Steve sighed angrily.

“Oh come on. Are you mad at me too?” Tony snapped out of his thoughts, looking up at Steve, “I man can’t choose whether or not he wants a picture of a fat stupid bird on his wall. My god, that’s the reason the pilgrims came here in the first place!”

“Steve, I wasn’t snubbing you. I didn’t hear you. And now I’m concerned about you.”  
Tony answered, it was hard to get Steve so riled up.

“Sorry,” Steve sighed again, starting to pour Tony his coffee, “Just feeling a little persecuted lately.” Steve looked to Tony, who was now back to looking out the window, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Tony nodded.

“You don’t look fine.”

“What every man loves to hear.” Tony snarked, looking back up to Steve.

“I just mean that you look concerned.”

“I’m preoccupied.”

“You look concerned.”

“Well, I’m not.” Tony picked up the coffee and took a sip.

“Fine, you just look it.”

“Geez, you know some streamers would look so great in here!” Tony started, trying to get Steve to lay off him a bit.

“Okay, I’m done!” Steve went back to the counter.

Tony shook his head before drinking some more coffee just as Peter walked in.

“Hey, sorry I’m late.” Peter sat down across from his dad.

“Save it the apologies for the Native Americans, Mister.” Tony jokingly replied.

“People are really in a giving mood today, the horn of plenty is packed.” Peter smiled, gesturing to the large cornucopia filled with food.

“That’s great. Do you want some coffee?”

“No, I’ll just have a sip of yours, I have to get right back.” Peter reached across the table and took a sip of his dad’s coffee.

“Oh, really? I thought we were having lunch today.”

“I can’t” Peter put his dad’s coffee cup back down in front of him, “We’re two pilgrims short so I only have a couple minutes.”

“Oh, alright. Do you want me to bring anything over to the table for you and Wanda?”

“No thanks, we’ll be fine. Plus we’re gonna grab some pizza when we’re done.” Peter got back up, getting ready to go back out to the town square, “See you later, Dad.”

“Bye.”

“I’m not gonna say you look concerned.” Steve said as he brought the coffee pot over to Tony.

“And I’m not gonna say you would look great dressed as one of the guys from ‘The Crucible’” Tony snarked.

“Fair enough.” Steve nodded as he refilled Tony’s mug.

“Worried about Peter?” Natasha asked, leaning over from the table next to Tony’s.

“Yeah, how could you tell?”

Natasha shrugged, “A woman has her ways.”

Bucky rolled his eyes, “She saw Peter and that new girl kissing in the market.”

“So that’s why you’re concerned. Peter got his first kiss?” Steve asked, sitting down to talk with his friends while the rest of the diner was slow.

“It wasn’t his first.” Tony shook his head, “I saw him kissing someone outside of my parent’s house on his birthday.”

“Who woulda thought? Peter being a total heartbreaker.” Bucky smiled jokingly.

“Not surprising really. The kid is adorable and smart, funny.” Natasha added, sounding like a proud grandparent.

“I’m just being weird about this. Peter’s told me everything that’s happened and he knows he can come to me about anything.”

“He’s still your son, you’re not used to the fact that he’s growing up.” Steve answered helpfully, “He’s a smart kid and you have to trust him to make the right decisions.”

“You’re right. I just need to stop worrying.” Tony nodded, agreeing with Steve.

“Yeah and tell him to stop making out in the market. I don’t want to see that every time I go in to buy something.” Natasha smirked, finishing off Bucky’s tea.

“You guys going to the town meeting tonight?” Bucky asked, changing the subject.

“Always, those things are hilarious.” Tony and Peter went to the town meetings every week, usually bringing drinks and snacks with them so that they can enjoy all of the pointless drama started by the townsfolk, “Besides, Fury said there’s something important that needs to be discussed.”

“Yeah, I’m sure it’s incredibly important.” Steve added grumpily as he stood back up, “As important as festival streamers?”

Getting back home after finishing his lunch, Tony hit play when he saw that there was a message on the answering machine just to be greeted by Loki’s voice.

“Tony, it’s Loki and once again we miss one another. It’s 2 o’clock in the afternoon and I’m in my office grading a paper entitled ‘Emily Dickinson Get A Life.’ Anyhow, as I sit here losing my faith in mankind and the next generation, I wonder if we’re ever going to actually go on that date we talked about so many moons ago.”

Sitting down on the couch, listening to the voicemail, Tony couldn’t help but to smile.

“I teach a night class at the college twice a week and when I pass that Stars Hollow sign on the turnpike I think, “Out there is a funny and smart man that I someday hope to spend time with.” Perhaps next week we could find some time. Goodbye Tony.”

Playing the message back, Tony pulled his knees up onto the couch, slipping off his shoes. He felt like a teenager again, wanting to listen to his crush’s message over and over again and not really knowing why.

-

Peter was sitting in the Natasha’s dance studio, the old barn still being where the town meetings were held once a week.

“This town meeting will come to order.” Maria Hill announced as people took their seats, Peter saving a spot for his dad next to him as the meeting began.

“No one is listening to me.” An older man was standing up at the podium talking with Maria.

“Calm down, Stan.” She tried soothing the older man a bit but knowing it was no good.

“How can I when I’m being persecuted!” He exclaimed, gesturing to the crowd of people.

“I promise we hear you.” Maria tried again when Sam Wilson stood up from his seat next to Steve and Bucky.

“We’ve been hearing you for 20 minutes, man. Come on.” Sam at least tried when Stan looked out at him.

“Who’s talking?” Stan asked.

“It’s me, Sam. You’ve known me for a year!” 

“Oh yes, Sam. Sit down.” Mr. Lee brushed him off before turning back to Maria.

“Now Stan, we’ve already agreed to look into your accusations so I suggest we move on to the next order of business.” Maria finished before turning Stan to go back to his seat.

Tony slid into the seat next to Peter, handing him a hot dog and soda, “What have I missed?”

“Stan wants the no-parking zone next to his magazine stand removed. He says his customers are being unfairly ticketed.” Peter explained before taking a sip of soda.

“No it’s just because he wants to park there all day.” Tony shook his head as he whispered back to Peter.

“Genius.” Peter nodded.

Nick Fury took the podium, “I have been Mayor of this town for a long time. I tend to think of all of you as my children. Unfortunately sometimes, children have to be disciplined.”

Tony nodded mockingly and Peter nudged him with his elbow, chuckling to himself as he did.

“Now, I’m only going to say this once. We have leash laws people!” Nick continued on.

Tony leaned in to Peter as he whispered, “Daddy’s getting angry.” 

“Now moving on to something very important. As most of you know, this coming Friday is the anniversary of the legendary battle of Stars Hollow.” Nick explained as the crowd applauded.

“Where are the guys?” Tony asked Peter when his son gestured to the middle row where Steve, Bucky, and Sam were all sitting.

“Maria will be sending around a sign-up sheet for those of you who would like to participate in the reenactment of foresaid battle.” Nick continued on with business.

“He’s turning red.” Peter explained as he motioned to Bucky who was now shaking his head.

“It was a frigid November night some 240 years ago when the Stars Hollow Militia stood…” Nick began recounting the events of the battle.

Tony smiled, “He’s shifting in his seat.”

“He’s adjusting the man bun.” Peter said excitedly.

“He’s fighting the urge.” Tony agreed.

“…tired and hungry, 12 proud men took their positions in the town square…” Nick continued on.

“Oh for God’s sake!” Bucky stood up from his seat angrily, “Do we have to go through this every damn year!”

Tony began laughing quietly to himself, “The urge wins by a landslide.”

“I thought we were here to discuss TOWN issues.” Bucky continued on, gesturing to the people sitting down in folding chairs and lining up against the back walls.

“This is a town issue!” Nick insisted.

“It wasn’t a battle. It was 12 guys standing out in the cold all night.” Bucky persisted, “What is there to reenact?”

“Sit down, Barnes!” Nick said again, ignoring Bucky’s argument, “As I was saying. 12 heroic men assembled with guns drawn, ready to meet their maker. Waiting for the redcoats…”

“Who never showed!” Bucky stood up again, “12 guys stood in a row all night waiting for an enemy that never showed. They got stood up. They should’ve been wearing prom dresses.”

The crowd laughed until Nick hit his gavel onto the podium, “Now I have had enough of this. You will sit down.”

“Five bucks says somebody ends up in a headlock.” Tony leaned in to Peter.

“You’re on.” Peter laughed.

“Have any of you ever considered the fact that you’re glorifying a war that we fought so that we could keep land that we stole?” Bucky asked and Sam snorted next to him in laughter.

“A sense of community is so important, isn’t it?” Tony asked Peter with a huge smile on his face.

“It’s what made our country great.” Peter nodded in agreement.

-

Waking up in the middle of the night, Tony smiled as he got out of bed and put on his slippers before heading downstairs. He had no idea what time it was as he went down to the living room, not even bothering to turn on the lights as he pulled open a window. Breathing in deeply through his nose, Tony turned and grabbed the cordless house phone, bringing it with him to the couch. Curling up on the sofa, he put Loki’s voicemail on and listened to it on speakerphone.

Listening to the voicemail once and then starting it again, Tony couldn’t keep the smile off his face.

“Dad?” Peter came into the room, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and pulling his warm fluffy robe tighter around him and his spaceship pajama bottoms.

“Sorry.” Tony apologized quickly, stopping the voicemail.

“What are you doing up?” Peter asked as he turned on the lamp next to the couch.

“I couldn’t sleep.”

“It’s freezing in here.” Peter went to close the window before his dad stopped him.

“Wait. Close your eyes and breathe.” Tony explained, waiting for Peter to do it, “I smell snow.”

“Ah. It’s that time of year again.” Peter left the window open, going to sit with his dad on the couch.

“Can’t you smell it?” Tony asked as Peter pulled a blanket off the back of the couch for them.

“You know, it’s like dogs and high-pitched noises. I think it’s something only you can smell.”

“I love snow.” Tony sighed, leaning back onto the couch as he and Peter pulled the blanket over their legs and feet.

“Really? I had no idea.” Peter added sarcastically as he smiled.

“Everything’s so much better when it snows. The clothes are great, coats, scarves, gloves, hats.” Tony got like this every year. He just couldn’t help himself.

“Thermal underwear, wool socks, earflaps.” Peter rebutted, sinking lower into the couch.

“Do you know that the best things in my life have happened when it snowed?” Tony turned to his son asking, as though he and Peter didn’t have this conversation every year.

“Why, yes, I do.” Peter snarked sarcastically again.

“My best birthday.” Tony began.

“Your first kiss.” Peter continued.

“Your first steps. They all happened when it snowed.” Tony smiled, “And you were born during a huge snow storm.”

“So, how soon is it supposed to hit?” Peter asked.

“Hmm…This weekend.” Tony paused to take another deep breath, “Definitely this weekend.”

“Okay then Friday it is.” Peter nodded.

“What is?” Tony asked.

“You, me, donuts, coffee, standing out in the snowstorm.” Peter explained.

“At midnight?” Tony asked excitedly.

“At midnight.” Peter agreed.

“You are my favorite son.” Tony put his arm around Peter, pulling the blanket farther up for the both of them.

Peter shook his head, looking back to the cordless phone that Tony had left on the couch cushion next to them, “How many times are you gonna listen to that?”

“Till it stops being sexy.” Tony explained like it was obvious.

“Stop, that’s my teacher you’re talking about. You know, I have to respect him.” Peter groaned, entirely weirded out.

“Okay, well, if it makes you feel any better, while he’s being sexy he’s also being grammatically correct?”

“Better. Thank you.” Peter nodded.

“Sorry I woke you up.” Tony nudged Peter’s shoulder.

“It’s alright, it’s all fodder for the tell-all.” Peter shrugged as he got up from the couch, “Goodnight.”

“Night.” Tony said as Peter went back to his bedroom. Pulling the blanket up and around his shoulders, Tony picked the phone up and began playing the voicemail again.

-

Sitting at the diner counter, Tony and Clint were talking back and forth as Steve put down their lunch in front of them.

“Life is a funny, funny thing, huh?” Tony asked.

“Yeah, I love that Saturday night live.” Clint agreed as he put the pieces of lettuce on his burger.

“What?” Tony asked, looking to his friend confused.

“SNL, it’s just funny.” Clint shrugged.

“Yeah it is, but I don’t mean funny funny. I’m being philosophical.” Tony tried explaining.

“Oh. Very serious face. Jean-Paul Sartre.” Clint teased, making a mocking serious face.

“Well, I can’t talk to you with that face.” Tony shakes his head.

“How do you guys get any work done?” Steve asked, he couldn’t help but smile before he walked away.

“So, why is life such a funny thing?” Clint asked.

“I met this amazing guy.” Tony explains, looking down at his food.

“Goody.” Clint pops a fry into his mouth, looking to Tony to keep explaining.

“Yeah, there’s goody stuff about it, but there’s baddy stuff too. He’s a teacher at Chilton. Loki, I think you met him at the bake sale.” Tony explained, pouring ketchup onto his plate.

“Tall, dark hair, looks like he might pull a knife on you but in a polite kind of way?”

“Yeah,” Tony nodded, “That’s him. He’s sexy and smart and funny. And he likes coffee.”

“Sounds perfect for you.” Clint chuckled lightly. “Did you get onions?” Clint asked.

“No.” Tony shook his head.

“Hey, Steve, you forgot the onions.” Clint called over to Steve who had head into the back room.

“I’m just so mixed up, you know. This is a real crossroads kind of situation. It’s like to tattoo or not.” Tony continued sighed as he leaned against the counter, “I’m really confused.”

“For heaven’s sake.” Clint got down off the counter stool, going to walk back behind the counter, “Go ahead, I’m still listening. You were about to get something tattooed.” 

“I just want to do the right thing.” Tony answered.

“I’m not sure that I see what the problem is.” Clint shook his head as he added some garnishing and lemon to the plate of someone eating at the diner.

“There are many problems. First, I don’t like involving Peter into my personal life.” Tony explained as Clint continued working behind the counter, “You know, I bring someone home and they might not be THE person, but then he gets all attached to them and then I decide that I don’t like the way they eat or hum incessantly…”

Tony trailed on just for Clint to pick up for him, “Or the way they smack their lips or if his hair isn’t really his.”

“Exactly,” Tony nods, “And then I break up with them and Peter is the one that gets hurt.”

“Yeah, I get ya.” Clint nods, adding seasoning to a plate that is fresh from the kitchen.

“I mean, this is his teacher. There’s no way to keep him out of Peter's life. He sees the guy every day.” Tony leans his head on his hand as he pops another fry into his mouth.

“Are you the open-faced turkey?” Clint asks to one of the guys sitting at the counter, when the guy nodded, Clint continued, “I added a little fresh lemon and some cayenne pepper. You’re gonna love it.” Sliding the plate over to the guy who couldn’t seem to care less, Clint turned his attention back to Tony.

“You do know that Peter isn’t a baby anymore.” Clint leaned onto the counter as he spoke.

“That’s what Loki said, maybe I’m being too serious about this, right? Loosen the rules a bit?” Tony asked, “Plus it would be great to get…you know.”

“What?” Clint asked, looking back into the kitchen for any sign of some onions.

“You know.” Tony nodded, picking up his soda.

“No, I don’t.” Clint shook his head as he placed a plate of sliced onions on the counter for him and Tony.

“You know!” Tony tried again. “He knows.” Tony gestured to the guy sitting near them at the counter that was just served the turkey.

“You know?” Clint asked confused.

“Yeah, I know.” The guy nodded uncaringly.

“Clint!” Steve came out from the back room, wiping his hands off from rewashing them.

“I was just looking for your paprika.” Clint started.

“What have I said about the counter?” Steve started, going to push Clint out and away from the counter.

“I know, but…” Clint was cut off again by Steve.

“The counter is a sacred space. My sacred space.” Steve turned Clint by the shoulders and moved him, “You don’t do yoga on the Dalai Lama’s mat, and you don’t come behind my counter, period!”

“I was trying to help!” Clint held up his hands in surrender as he went back to sit next to Tony.

“You bring him again I want him on a leash! I mean it!” Steve said to Tony seriously before turning away.

“He does make a damn fine burger though.” Clint told Tony as he went to take a bite.

“He does, at that.” Tony agreed, “Maybe I’m being too serious about this. Peter seemed okay with it and if after the first date there’s even an ounce of weirdness I’ll break it off.”

“Peter knows already?”

“He found out about me and his teacher having coffee but there hasn’t really been anything to tell since then.” Tony explained.

“Mhm, sure there hasn’t.” Clint said snarkily.

“Oh please, as though you wouldn’t be the first to know.” Tony shook his head.

“Wait so the entire reenactment is 12 guys standing out in the cold all night?” Tony and Clint turned to look at Sam and Bucky sitting at a table, Steve shaking his head as he served them.

“Yup, that’s it!” Bucky said, exasperated, “Just 12 guys freezing to death.”

“You guys talking about the reenactment?” Clint asked, dipping a fry into some ketchup.

“This entire town gets worked up over 12 men doing nothing, claiming it’s a historical event that the people of Stars Hollow should commemorate and honor, when it was really nothing.” Bucky explained.

“Wait, but it’s supposed to be a reenactment. What are they reenacting if nothing happened?” Sam asked.

“Nothing.” Steve answered as he came back behind the counter, “They stand outside next to the gazebo and stay there all night and that’s it. Then they all go home in the morning exhausted and cold and half the businesses in town are closed because the owners are in bed. Then when people complain or the business should be fined it gets excused because Nick Fury seems to think this event is an acceptable excuse for people not wanting to do their jobs.”

“Meanwhile if I want to sit at home on Veterans Day and keep the bookshop closed I get a $200 fine. Or god forbid someone try to hold a memorial service for current armed forces and Fury shuts it down because we don’t have a permit.” Bucky explains, getting angrier by the second.

“That’s terrible, Fury shut down a memorial service because you didn’t have a permit?” Clint asked, though he shouldn’t be surprised, it was Nick Fury after all.

“Wait I was there for that. It was just you three, me, Peter, and Natasha. Fury kicked 6 people out of the park because there was no permit?” Tony had just assumed that Fury was setting up some kind of event and needed the space, “We were just having lunch together and doing a toast with some flowers and reading off names.”

“Exactly!” Bucky sat back in his chair, “Now 12 guys that did nothing get commemorated meanwhile actual veterans that have seen bettle,” Bucky waved his metal prosthetic hand around angrily and Tony was half worried it was going to fly off of him, “get treated like we are the ones who stood around doing nothing.”

“Maybe we should start a petition so next year for Veterans Day we can hold an actual memorial.” Sam suggested, “There are some family’s in town who have lost people in service and I think they’d appreciate it.”

“Well you have my signature if you do send it around.” Clint shrugged, figuring it was the least he could do.

“Yeah, I’d sign it. Maybe we could even get a permit for the whole day, we could bring chairs from the Inn, invite families of veterans and active duty, make some food. You know, hold a full service.” Tony added on.

“Really?” Steve asked, “You’d go through all that just for us?”

“Well yeah, you guys deserve at least that. Especially when these lame revolutionary bums get commemorated yearly for standing in place.” Tony shrugged.

Tony couldn’t help but the be proud of the immediate lighter mood in the diner as well as the big goofy grin that was now on Steve’s face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one too so long. I have no excuse other than my own laziness and busy schedule.


	8. Kismet and Snow

“Hey, how is it out there?” Tony asked Phil excitedly as he returned to the front desk from outside.

“It’s cold and gray, like a fat, dead pigeon.” Phil said monotonously. 

“We’ll need to pull out the sleds, people might want to take their kids sledding. Ooh, and the parkas.” Tony said excitedly.

“For what?” Phil asked incredulously.

“In case anyone wants to go hiking.” Tony answered.

“You do understand that not everyone finds the idea of being pelted with frozen water appealing.”

“I know, and how sad for them,” Tony said snarkily, “I’m telling you, five minutes in a snowball fight and we could knock that stick right out of your ass.”

“Okay, how does this sound?” Clint asked coming out of the kitchen excitedly, “Maple-sugar snowflakes on all the pillows?”

“Oh that sounds great!” Tony agreed, happy that at least one other person was as excited about the snow as he was.

“Snowflakes it is!” Clint shouted behind him as he turned and made his way back to the kitchen.

“I just can’t believe it.” Wanda began as she and Peter walked into the front of the Inn, “I mean, I sat next to him in Pre-Calc for months, and then one day I look over and he’s a vision.”

“Where is my Chemistry book? I had it at your house yesterday, didn’t I?” Peter asked as he continued searching through his backpack.

“Peter, focus, please.” Wanda urged him to keep listening.

“I’m sorry, I just can’t find my book.” Peter exclaimed as the two walked towards the counter, “Hey dad. Do you know where my…”

“Big scary Chemistry book is? Right here.” Tony turned and picked it up from the back counter, handing it over to Peter.

“Thank god. Hey is Clint in the kitchen?” Peter asked as he stuffed his book into his bag.

“And there he’ll stay.” Tony smiled.

“Okay, so you had a vision?” Peter asked as he walked with Wanda towards the Inn’s kitchen.

“Victor Shade. I swear I had seen him in one of my dreams.” Wanda explained.

“And the fact that we’ve known the guy for 7 years doesn’t in any way mean he’d pop up in a dream at some point in your life?” Peter asked with a smile on his face.

“No, I mean it happened right after I had just done a Tarot reading about my love life. It had said I would find it somewhere I hadn’t expected but knew all-too-well.” Wanda explained. Peter wasn’t entirely sure about this whole tarot and sudden interest in witchcraft thing with Wanda but it seemed to really suit her.

“And this means Victor because?”

“Well I had seen him in my dream, which I wrote off as nothing. But then I talk to him for the first time in at least a year. Individually these don’t add up to anything.” Wanda admit.

“But combined with the tarot reading and all happening within a day of each other it means soul mate.” Peter concluded.

“Exactly.” Wanda agreed as the two walked into the kitchen.

“Now, remember, you do not take your eyes off this for a minute because the second you do it will boil, and then it’s ruined.” Clint instructed to one of the kitchen staff, “So just stand there and stare at it.”

Nodding, the staff member began staring, just like he knew Clint would want him too, “Perfect.” Clint pat him on the back.

“Hi, Clint.” Peter and Wanda greeted him.

“Hey rugrats, we got fresh cinnamon buns.” Clint smiled to the teens and Wanda immediately went to grab one from the cooling rack on the other side of the kitchen.

“Do you have any of those rocky-road cookies that you made yesterday?” Peter asked as Wanda came back with one cinnamon bun half in her mouth and a second one in her hand.

“I can scrounge some up. Wanda, do you need a bag of cookies?” Clint asked as he went to gather some up.

“No, thank you.” Wanda mumbled through a bite of her cinnamon bun, checking in the reflective steel fridge that she didn’t mess up her lipstick.

“Are you staring?” Clint asked the kitchen worker as he walked by.

“Still staring.” The guy answered with a smile.

“Thank you!” Clint smiled before going to get the cookies.

“Hey, hot stuff.” Tony came back into the kitchen to talk to Peter, “I have a locksmith coming to the house around 5 today and I don’t know how long he’ll take. So will you tell grandma and grandpa that I’m gonna be late and that I’m having Satan’s baby? You pick the order.”

“I’ll relay the time message, but I’m leaving the rest up to you.”

“Here, Peter.” Clint handed him a bag filled with rocky road cookies.

“Thanks, Clint.”

“What is this?” Tony picked up the Ziploc bag and inspecting it before handing it right back to Peter, “You hate rocky-road cookies.”

“I do not.” Peter shrugged.

“Oh, I’m sorry. That must be my other son, Shmeter.” Tony couldn’t help but to laugh slightly at his own dumb joke.

“We’re leaving now.” Peter goes to leave the door. Wanda starting on her second cinnamon bun as she goes to follow.

“Wait a minute,” Tony smirks as he turns Peter back around, “I know who likes rocky-road cookies.”

“Who?” Clint asks.

“Harry, they’re for Harry.” Tony teased lightly.

“Bringing baked goods to a boy, wow, serious.” Clint joked with him.

Peter rolled his eyes as he made for the door, “We’re leaving now.”

Wanda waved as she followed. The two of them left the inn and made their way to the bus stop where Peter had to wait for his bus to school, “I mean I just can’t believe it, I’d never even considered liking Victor before. But now that it’s in my head it’s all I can think about.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Peter asked, flipping through the pages of his book.

“You’re not listening to me.” Wanda’s shoulders slouched.

“I am, I’m sorry.” Peter shut his book, “I just couldn’t find my bookmark. Keep going.”

“Okay so here are the problems with this whole Shade-Maximoff situation.” Wanda started again.

“Well, one, hyphenation would be a nightmare.” Peter joked.

“Two, he’s my lab partner now and it would be totally weird.” Wanda continued on, “Three, he’s never even looked at me like I’m a girl or something resembling one.” The two sat down on the bench at the bus stop as she continued, “Four, there’s no way I could convince my dad to like him.”

“Why wouldn’t your dad like him?”

“Because he’s my dad and he doesn’t like anybody. You and I have been best friends since we were 4 and are strictly platonic and he still doesn’t like you. Now I’m obsessed with and want to date someone my dad knows nothing about? There’s no way he’d be into it.”

Peter could see the bus rolling up to them, “You don’t know that for sure yet, it’s not like you’ve ever tried bringing home a guy before.” Picking up his backpack from the bench, Peter continued, “I mean a guy other than me.”

“Because I just know that it will be awful.” 

When the bus pulled up in front of them, Wanda sighed, not wanting to put this conversation on hold again.

“Call me when I get back from dinner at my grandparents tonight.” Peter explained as he climbed onto the bus.

“Yeah yeah, go be a fancy pants rich boy.” Wanda joked as she went to get up and go to Stars Hollow High.

-

Walking back into the lobby of the Inn, Tony excitedly announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, we have flakes. Flakes have been sighted.” Walking over towards the front desk, Tony couldn’t help but to smile. “Phil, it’s the first snowfall of the season. It’s very lucky, make a wish.”

“Get away from me.” Phil exclaimed in his usual deadpan tone as he read through the newspaper.

“Oh, see you’re not supposed to say it out loud.” Tony groaned as he put his portfolio down to look through the guestbook for this weekend when the phone began to ring.

“Independence Inn, Phil speaking.”

Ignoring Phil, Tony leaned his elbows onto the front desk to look out the large bay windows on the front of the Inn, “The world changes when it snows. It gets quiet, everything softens.”

Phil held the phone out towards Tony, “It’s your mother.”

“And then the rain comes.” Tony sighed as he grabbed the phone from Phil’s hand, “Hi mom.”

“Have you seen the news?” Maria asked.

“Ever?”

“A bad storm is heading your way. It’s already hitting us here.” Maria explained, she was looking out of the front windows in the manor from the sitting room.

“Well, don’t panic. I’ll get the ark, you get the animals.” Tony joked, continuing to look through the paperwork he had in front of him, flipping open his portfolio.

“I just sent Jarvis to pick up Peter at school. The roads are terrible, black ice everywhere. It’s just a mess out there. I hate this kind of weather.” Maria sat down on one of the armchairs next to the large fireplace. “So anyhow, what time will you get here?”

“Well gee Mom, let me see, black ice, treacherous roads. I guess I’ll just put on my red-white-and blue leotard, grab my golden lasso, and fly the invisible plane on over.” Tony rebutted.

“You’re not coming.” Maria summarized for him.

“Well, if it’s as bad as you say it is, I just don’t see how I’d get there.” Tony explained.

“Well, I guess it’ll just be the three of us then.”

“I guess so.”

“And, you know, Peter should probably spend the night tonight also.” Maria insisted.

“Okay.”

“And if it’s still bad tomorrow…” Maria started before Tony cut her off.

“Mom, why don’t you wait to see what the weather does before you fill out a change-of-address card for him.”

“Hi grandma.” Peter greeted as he took off his scarf, walking in through the front door.

“Peter’s here.” Maria explained to Tony.

“Put him on a sec.”

“Here, Peter, it’s your father.” Maria got up from her seat, handing Peter the phone before heading out of the room to give them some privacy. Heading into the kitchen, she went to make Peter some tea to warm him up from the snow.

“Hey.” Peter greeted as he took off his coat.

“Hey, things bad out there, huh?” Tony asked.

“It’s crazy, the snow is coming down so hard I could barely see in front of me. And let me just tell you oxford shoes are not the best all-weather footwear.” Peter summarized.

“Awe you fell.”

“Twice.”

“Film it next time see if you can go viral.”

“Haha, so what’s the deal? You coming here tonight?” Peter asked as he sat down on the couch.

“No, I guess I’m pretty much stuck in the hollow.” Tony answered, already able to hear the bummed out tone in his son’s voice.

“Lame. We can take our snow walk tomorrow night?”

“Absolutely, and kiddo I want you to tell your grandmother that you arrived there not a young Republican, I’d like you to leave there the same way.”

“Call if you get lonely.” Peter rolled his eyes as they said their goodbyes.

-

Having gone outside, Steve was pulling his motorcycle into the garage around the back of his building, making sure it was protected from the snow that was getting heavier the darker it got outside. As he was walking back into the front of the diner, the reenactment was being set up as the men went to take their spots. Seeing Fury about to go direct them on position in the town square, Steve spoke up.

“Nick, come on. Stop this before somebody drives through town and thinks that the local mental institution has bad padlocks.”

Ignoring Steve, Nick continued as the men got into position in their replacement uniforms.

Coming up to stand next to Steve, Tony couldn’t help but to let out his snickers, “There goes the fire chief, the police chief, and the one paramedic with a valid license. I feel safe. Don’t you?”

“Look at them. All relatively intelligent men, but there they are, dressed up in costumes, standing out in a snowstorm. And for what?” Steve asked, bringing out some rock salt to coat the sidewalk in front of his diner.

Tony shrugged, “This town cares a lot about tradition.”

“Tradition is a trap that allows people to stick their head in the sand. Everything in the past was so quaint, so charming. Times were simpler, kids didn’t have sex, and neighbors knew each other. It’s a fairy tale. You know what wasn’t so great? Polio.”

Tony couldn’t help from snorting as Steve went into his tangent, “Some traditions are nice. Holidays, birthdays, even taking a walk in the first snow of the season.”

“I didn’t get the Hallmark card for that one.” Steve joked with him.

“When I was 5, I was in bed sick with the flu while my parents were out of town. I’d been at home in bed for a week with just a nanny checking on me. I kept hoping and hoping that something good would happen to me, and I woke up the next morning and it had snowed, and I was sure that it was just for me, like it was my present.” Tony explained, it was the main reason that he loved snow so much even as an adult.

“Your parents never explained the concept of weather to you?” Steve jokingly asked, though he knew better than anyone what it was like to be stuck in bed as a sick kid.

“I’m making a point, Captain Grumpy.” Tony continued, “Of course when I was older I realized that the snow was not there for me personally, but still, when it snows something inside me says, ‘Hey, that’s your present.’ I don’t think it’ll ever change.”

Steve turned to look at the reenactment still being set up, “You know my father used to be one of those guys.”

“Yeah?” Tony asked, liking that Steve was lightening up.

“Yeah, he even had his own musket.” Steve nodded, putting the salt back away and getting the shovels ready for the morning. He, Sam, and Bucky would all need them to clear away the entrances to their stores in the morning, “Come on inside, I’ll get you some coffee.” Steve offered, gesturing to the door.

“No, thanks. I’m gonna walk around, enjoy my present a little.” Tony smiled up at Steve before walking down the sidewalk.

-

Wanda was sitting on the bench on her front porch, bundled up in a coat and gloves watching the snowfall in the night sky. She’d only been outside for a few minutes, not wanting to get sick from being out in the cold. Walking down the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street, she could see Victor walking home.

Before she even realized what was happening, Wanda got a sharp pain like a migraine as she watched him. The sudden ache forcing her to look away and bring her hand to her head. 

By the time Wanda looked back up, Victor was long gone, probable home by now. Chalking it up to bad timing and her being out in the cold for too long, Wanda gathered her phone and scarf and went to go inside. Just as she was standing up, she saw a small animal like figure scamper across her front lawn. Doing a double-take, Wanda could make out the tail of black cat as it went to hide in the hedges of the front garden.

Seeing an omen of bad luck right after seeing Victor, and getting a splitting migraine out of nowhere, Wanda took her stuff and rushed inside to call Peter from the privacy of her room.

-

Walking down the streets of Stars Hollow, Tony was warmly wrapped in his coat, scarf, and hat and was enjoying the snow before it got to be too heavy. Heading down one of the main roads in town, he saw one of the mechanics outside the garage, taking a look under the hood of someone’s car. Figuring someone must have been unfortunate to have their car act up in the snowstorm, Tony began walking past when he saw the car’s owner. 

Walking over to see Loki standing beside the car, the other man saw him approaching, a smile spreading across his lips.

“Well, well, well.” Loki greeted as Tony came to stand in front of him.

“What’s up, teach?” Tony joked.

“What are you doing here?” Loki asked as the mechanic continued his work.

“I live here. What are you doing here?” Tony explained while gesturing around.

“I was on my way back from teaching a night class at the college and my car decided to stop.”

“Here.” Tony couldn’t help but smile.

“Yes.”

“In my town?” Tony silently thanked the snow.

“Yes.”

“Good car.” Tony jokingly remarked as he pat the car affectionately.

“You know, a minute ago I was really angry about something, and now I just can’t remember what it was.” Loki explained.

“Well, that’s snow for ya.” Tony joked.

“I guess so.”

“So, this is quite a predicament you’re in. Stranded here in a strange town with no one you know. Oh wait.” Tony teased.

“Where’s Peter tonight?” Loki asked.

“He’s with his grandparents.” 

“That must be nice.” 

“Whatever you say.” Tony shrugged.

“So, Peter’s not here?”

“Yes.”

“And I’m in Stars Hollow.” Loki took the chance to look around a little at the mention of the town. 

“Correct.”

“And you are…” Loki started before Tony cut him off.

“Trying to figure out where I should take you.” Tony explained.

“No, no, no. Where I should take you.” Loki insisted.

“This is my town. You know nothing around here.”

“No, but I was the one who asked you out initially,” Loki insisted again, “So, therefore, I am still obligated to do the taking.”

“Yes, but I was the one who did the canceling after you did the asking. Therefore, you forfeit your taking rights to me, the canceler.” Tony explained thoroughly.

“We’re actually going to do this?” 

“Yes, we are.”

“Let me just give this guy my keys, and we’ll go.”

“Great.” Tony couldn’t stop smiling.

“Great’s an understatement.”

-

“Well, I just don’t understand why you waited so late to call.” Maria was on the phone in the living room, getting more frustrated by the moment, “Are you sure?”

Peter looked up from where he was doing homework in the dining room to watch his grandmother continue the call, “Fine. All right. Goodbye.”

Maria put the phone down on the end table next to the armchair where Howard was sitting reading his paper, “Well, I don’t know what I’m going to do now.”

“What’s the problem, Maria?” Howard asked, not looking up from his paper.

“The problem is that apparently Florence cannot get here because of the storm.” Maria explained, crossing her legs as she sat on the couch.

“Florence?” Howard asked.

“Our cook.”

“Ah. Well, we’ll just have to go out then.”

“Oh, please, Howard pay attention. We can’t go out, it’s miserable out there.” Maria gestured to the windows next to them, the porch and trees covered in at least two feet of snow and ice.

“We’ll figure something out.” Howard explained distractedly.

“What? What will we figure out?” Maria crossed her arms, “I hate the damn snow.”

“Maria, calm down.”

“This is a serious problem, Howard. These Friday dinners are the only proper food that child eats all week.” Maria explained, gesturing to Peter who had since tuned them out to continue his physics homework.

“Peter,” Howard spoke up, “Are you in any way malnourished or in need of some international relief organization to recruit a celebrity to raise money on your account?”

“I’m good.” Peter answered, not sure he got the joke.

“He’s good, Maria.”

“Your sense of humor rears its ugly head at the oddest of time, Howard.” Maria rolled her eyes.

“Maria, I’m not the mastermind behind some great scheme to spoil your dinner plans and I don’t care to be treated as such.”

“So you’re fine with having no dinner tonight?” Maria asked. Peter put down his homework, getting up and walking over to the two of them.

“I certainly am not.” Howard said, finally putting down his newspaper.

“How about I check the fridge?” Peter asked, “I’m sure there’s something in there we could whip up.”

“Whip up?” Maria asked.

“Yeah, come on.” Peter started walking towards the kitchen, “Come on, it’ll be fun, I promise.”

“Well, come on, Mr. ‘we’ll figure it out’” Maria snarked as she got up to join her grandson.

Opening the large freezer, there were at least a dozen neatly wrapped items with different labels on them. Some read ‘salmon’ and ‘lamb chops’ all seemingly left overs from earlier in the week. Underneath a few of them there was a plain frozen pizza box bought from the supermarket.

“Nothing.” Maria stated.

“Not a blessed thing.” Howard agreed.

“Hey, there’s frozen pizza.” Peter pointed out.

“How in the world did that get there?” Maria asked confusedly.

“Maybe you bought it and forgot about it.” Peter shrugged.

“I have never bought frozen pizza. It must belong to Anna.” Maria explained.

“The maid.” Howard asked.

“Yes.” Maria answered.

“Ah, got one.”

Peter grabbed the box of frozen pizza, pulling it out of the fridge and towards the island counter behind them.

“What are you doing?” Maria asked.

“I’m gonna make it.” He shrugged.

“Peter, you’re not serious.”

“That hardly looks like dinner.” Howard agreed.

“I agree. Peter, that’s food you eat at a carnival or in a Turkish prison.” Maria seemed genuinely worried.

Peter could hardly keep himself from laughing, “I promise, you’re gonna love it. Just leave it to me, you guys go back into the living room and I’ll call you when it’s ready.”

The elder pair looked to each other and seemed to silently agree before heading to walk out the door.

“Hey grandma,” Peter asked, “What are the odds of you knowing where a cookie sheet would be?”

“I’d say very slim.” Howard smiled.

“Nevermind, I’ll find it.” Peter opened the cardboard box.

“Very slim?” Maria pursed her lips as she side eyed her husband, “Thank you for that.”

-

One of Tony’s favorite places in town was a hole-in-the-wall burger place. And it literally was just a hole in the wall, like a walk up drive-thru window. He had ordered just some burgers and fries, handing one bag to Loki and grabbing the two drinks himself.

As the two walked, he asked, “So, tell me something about yourself.”

“Like what?” Loki asked.

“Have you ever been married?” Tony asked, being careful not to slip on any of the ice that was forming on the sidewalks.

“Nope.”

“Ever been close?”

“Once. She’s in Scandinavia.”

“Sex trade?”

Loki couldn’t help but to let out a small laugh at that, “Bank of America.”

“Well it’s usually one or the other.” Tony smiled to himself lightly.

“She went there on business, did well, and never came back.” Loki explained, seeming very casual about having lost a girlfriend to her work.

“Oh, that’s sad.”

“It was at the time, though I suppose if it was meant to be…” Loki started before Tony cut him off.

“Ah, he believes in fate.”

“Fate, poetry, love, literature. They all go hand-in-hand.”

“So it would seem.”

“What about you?” Loki asked as the two continued walking.

“No, I’ve never been married. Though my parents did want me to marry Peter’s mom.” Tony explained.

“What happened?”

“The bell rang?” Tony shrugged, “I was late for math class?” He joked slightly.

“Ever sorry that you didn’t?”

“No, not really. We were so young and my life would be completely different. I wouldn’t live here. I wouldn’t work here. I wouldn’t be walking here with you.” Tony answered, though after he said it he almost wanted to cringe at how corny the words seemed.

Loki stopped slightly, looking to Tony before asking, “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.” Tony smirked as he continued walking.

“Are we going to get there before we freeze?”

“Wouldn’t be very fun if I told you the answer.”

“You’re crazy.” Loki shook his head, continuing to follow Tony.

“Very possible.”

“And I’m following you.”

“You might be crazier than I am, following a crazy person around.” Tony shook his own head teasingly.

“A match made in heaven.” Loki joked back.

“Or in Bellevue.”

“Must be fate.” Tony couldn’t help the slight laugh that he let out as their conversation came full circle.

-

“Oh this is ridiculous Obediah. I will not continue to humor these ideas that the board of comes up with. Goodbye.” Howard hung up the phone, clicking it into the receiver. “What a moron.”

Peter got up from his seat on the sofa, going to wander a bit around the house as he waited for the pizza to cook. Heading up the stairs, he found himself in his dad’s old bedroom.

With a few band posters scattered around the room, and a few model cars on display shelves, it was no doubt that this was all of his dad’s old stuff. With a large bay window looking out onto the balcony, Peter couldn’t help but to smile, seeing the big tree that his dad told him he had fallen out of trying to go to a party.

Wandering over to the writing desk in the corner of the room, Peter looked at the half assembled watch that was left there, no doubt a project his dad had been working on before deciding to run away.

Hearing his phone going off in his pocket, Peter picked it up and left the watch alone, “Hello?”

“Peter, jesus Christ you’re harder to get in touch with than the pentagon where are you?” Wanda asked urgently.

Sitting down onto the bed, Peter’s eyebrows knit together, “I’m at my grandparents. You know I come here Friday nights.”

“Look, you know Victor?”

“Yeah, you’re soulmate?” Peter teased lightly.

“Well I was sitting outside and Victor was walking by.” Wanda explained.

“Did you talk to him? You didn’t open with a knock-knock joke did you?” Peter asked, assuming that the only reason she seemed so worked up would be that she potentially embarrassed herself.

“No I didn’t say anything because as soon as I saw him, I got a stinging feeling behind my eye, like a crazy migraine out of nowhere.” Wanda explained as she took a sip of water, swallowing some advil to hopefully help with her headache.

“So you missed your chance?” Peter asked, still not exactly getting it.

“A black cat ran past me, Peter.”

“A what?”

“A black cat. In the middle of a freak snowstorm, a black cat was seemingly outside and happened to cross my path right after I saw Victor.” Wanda further explained.

“So, Victor is a bad omen now? I thought he was your soulmate.”

“So did I!” Wanda exclaimed a bit too loudly, realizing her dad was probably just in the other room and heard her. “When are you going to be home, I need you to be here to talk about this.”

“Not until the storm let’s up.” Peter explained as he saw the door to the bedroom and his grandma looking for him.

“Ugh, call me tomorrow, okay? I’ll come over.” Wanda hung up just before her dad knocked on her door.

“Peter, there you are. Come downstairs, I think the oven timer is going off.” Maria insisted. Picking himself up off the bed, Peter went downstairs, forgetting about his dad’s room.

-

Walking into Bucky’s bookstore, Tony handed over ten bucks to Bucky as he and Loki walked inside. Set up inside the bookstore was a makeshift movie theater for Bucky’s weekly “classic movie night.” A few people seemed to be already sitting around the room, waiting for the movie to start up in just a minute.

Taking their seats, Tony could already see Natasha, Sam, Maria Hill, and Bruce all chatting amongst themselves with the other moviegoers.

“So this is what people that live in a small town do for fun?” Loki asked as he took a look around the small bookshop, the lights dimming and the projector starting up.

“Well you just missed the rave last weekend, it was a real rager.” Tony joked.

“And those men standing around in the town square?” Loki asked, hushing his voice as the movie started.

“Revolutionary War Reenactment. A very controversial topic here in the town.” Looking up to the screen, Tony recognized it as a classic horror movie, one he and Peter had seen many time before. “Are you scared yet?”

“Not yet.” Loki answered,

Faking a gasp at a woman screaming on screen, Tony turned to Loki, “Are you scared yet?”

“You’re a talker during movies then?” Loki joked, turning to face Tony, almost entirely giving up on the film.

“Well, I think it’s very important that you know my faults as well as my many attributes.” Tony teased.

“Very thoughtful of you.”

“It is isn’t it?”

“Because as you know,” Loki continued, “You can get very carried away by your many attributes and suddenly find yourself thinking, “my god, this man is perfect.””

Tony couldn’t help the slight fluttering in his chest at that, “Well we wouldn’t want that now, would we?”

“No, we wouldn’t.”

Leaning in, the two met in the middle, kissing sweetly.

-

Looking out the front windows of the diner, Steve could see the team of war reenactors practically being buried in the snow that was still falling. Turning away from the window, Steve went behind the counter, pouring out coffee into to-go cups, placing them on a tray. Grabbing his coat and gloves, Steve went out with the tray in hand.

Walking over to the group of men, Steve held out a cup of coffee to Nick Fury. “Here.”

“What’s this?”

“I brought you coffee.” Steve answered.

“No, thank you.” 

“Nick, you’re freezing. Take the damn coffee.”

“When our forefathers stood out here many moons ago, they didn’t have any coffee.”

Steve clenched his jaw, “How do you know? Do you have any written documentation about what sort of beverages they did or did not have on that long historic night of standing?”

“This is still a joke to you, young man. I don’t choose to be a joke.”

“Nick, please. Take the coffee.” Steve paused before adding, “My father would have taken the coffee.”

“All right, then. Thank you.” Fury took the coffee in hand.

“Jasper?” Steve turned to one of the other men standing in line.

“Thank you, Steve.” The man took the coffee happily.

“Thor?” Steve went to the next in line, offering coffee to the tall blonde that didn’t seem nearly as bothered by the cold.

“Ah, thank you Steven.” Thor smiled, sipping at the warm drink.

As he passed out the coffee, Steve could see Tony and Loki walking out of the bookstore across the town square. With the tray of drinks empty, the turned to go back into the diner, just missing the tail end of another kiss between the couple.

-

Walking up the front steps of the porch, Tony led Loki up to the front door. Noticing that Tony was getting uncharacteristically quiet as they got to the door, Loki asked, “Is something wrong?”

“No, nothing’s wrong.”

“Are you sure?”

“Well, see, I was so excited about the snow, and about seeing you-“

“Thank you.” Loki cut him off, a bit smugly.

“You’re welcome. But I didn’t exactly think this through.” Tony explained, “And I usually do, think these things out that is.”

“Thinking what out?”

“Inviting a man over to my house. See, I have very strict rules about dating. I try to keep my personal life totally separate from my life with Peter. And this is his house too. I don’t like it if Peter has to feel like his life gets totally shifted.” Tony explained quickly, seeming more nervous by the word.

“I understand, so this isn’t something you do often.”

“Ever.” Tony tried to explain further.

“Ever?”

“Never.”

“I see.” Loki nodded, seeming to get more of a clear picture.

“I mean, I’ve dated. And, you know, ‘dated’ but I’ve just never ‘dated’ here in our house.”

“What if I promised you, that if you let me in, all I’m expecting is a cup of coffee? Nothing weird or funny…” Loki smiled, “Unless you’re interested in weird or funny.”

“Loki!” Tony smiled.

“Because I can always do funny.” Loki teased, “Tony, I’ve been enjoying myself tonight, and I think you are too.”

“I am.”

“And it’s snowing, it’s cold. And your son is elsewhere.”

“Oh, I know.”

“The entire night has been a strange kismet of events.”

“Oh, so it’s that fate guy again.” Tony smiled at the joke.”

“At some point you’re going to need to decide that someone is worth opening that front door for.” Loki gestured to the front door that Tony was standing in front of. “I’m only volunteering.”

Turning to the front door and unlocking it, Tony held the door open and looked back at Loki, “Do you want a cup of coffee?”

-

The next morning, Tony was woken up by the sound of a car pulling up into the driveway. Getting up, he looked out the window the see Peter being let out of the car by his grandparent’s driver, Jarvis. Quickly grabbing his jacket and slipping on shoes, Tony went down to the front door, opening it just in time to come face to face with Peter.

“Hi!”

“Hi!” Peter jumped back, “What’s up?”

“Nothing. What’s up with you?” Tony asked hurriedly.

“You have something to tell me.”

“Wow, you are so smart. Alright, okay, here we go. I’ve got a guy in the house.”

“You what?” Peter asked, trying to get past into the house.

“Yeah, you know him.” Tony stopped him, keeping him out on the porch.

“I do?”

“Yes and you like him. I don’t know if that’s relevant, I just thought I would throw that in there.”

-

Peter pushed past into the house, walking into the kitchen and throwing his backpack onto the chair. “Mr. Laufeyson?” 

“Yeah.” Tony answered.

“My English teacher is upstairs.”

“It was the snow.” Tony tried to explain, getting some coffee ready, hoping that it would settle Peter’s nerves and his own. “You know how I get. I was walking. He was there. His car was broken, we had fiesta burgers. It was the snow.”

Sipping the coffee, Peter stayed quiet.

“Talk to me, how do you feel?”

“I don’t know.”

“Take a guess. Angry, frustrated, nauseous?” Tony tried to get something out of Peter.

“Weird. I feel weird.”

“You knew I was gonna date him. This isn’t a total surprise.” 

“Yeah, I just didn’t think that he would be here. At our house. In the morning. I don’t even remember any of your dates in our house.”

“Well, I kind of broke the rules.” Tony tried, seeing that Peter was weirded out entirely. “Look, I promised myself a long time ago that I was going to keep this all separate from you, and that isn’t going to change. I’m not going to just start bringing people over. This isn’t a trend. It’s a one time thing.”

“You can you know.” Peter answered.

“What?”

“If you like him then there’s no reason not to bring him home. I’ll get over being weird about it. I’m just not used to it. I want you to be happy.”

“And I appreciate that.” Tony smiled, happy that Peter was such a great kid.

“Plus you’re not a cat person, so you will eventually need to find someone.” Peter joked.

“Alright, I get it.” Tony ruffled Peter’s hair.

“I’ll save everyone the awkwardness of me and my English teacher coming face to face. I’m gonna go meet up with Wanda.” Peter explained, Finishing off his coffee in one big gulp before getting back up. “She called panicked about an incident with a black cat and a vision. I’ll see you later.”

“Make sure to tell her about the dad-brought-home-my-english-teacher incident.” Tony joked as Peter picked up his stuff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for this one taking so long, I just quit my second job and am only working 1 job now so I will have more time to work on this and that will mean sooner updates. I have had about half of this typed up for a long time and didn't want to give such a short chapter after making you guys wait so long for it. I hope all that happens in this chapter can make up for that a little bit. <3 thank you all for such lovely comments, it's what's been motivating me to want to come back to this so thank you all so much.


	9. The First Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chilton is having their first dance and Peter already decided that he's not going to go when Tony's mom brings it up at dinner. But with a little convincing and Harry's persuasion, Peter has one of the most memorable nights of his life.

“Your grandfather called last night and told me to let you know that he’s bringing you back something very special from Prague.” Maria explained at the dinner table.

  
“How amazing is it that he’s in Prague?” Peter asked, his posture straightening out as the subject of exotic countries was brought up.

  
“It’s supposed to be lovely. Very dramatic castles everywhere.” Maria smiled. She’d never been to Prague, but the smile on Peter’s face was beginning to give her ideas about a small family trip.

  
“You know, the cell that Vaclac Havel was held in is now a hostel. You can stay there for fifty dollars a night.” Peter exclaimed before turning to face his dad across the table from him. “Hey maybe on our big trip we could go to Prague and stay in a cell.”

  
“Definitely, then we can go to Turkey and stay in that place from ‘Midnight Express.” Tony agreed as he picked at his salad, leaving bits and pieces of what he didn’t want on the side of his plate.

  
“Tony, what are you doing?” Maria asked, eyeing his plate.

“Getting rid of the avocado."

  
“Since when do you not like avocado?” She asked, confused about when this sudden change in Tony’s taste happened.

  
“Since the day I said “Gross, what’s this?” and you said avocado.” He explained, picking out a particularly large piece.

  
“I’m focusing on you now,” Maria shook her head as she turned back to Peter, “Tell me all about the Chilton Formal next week.”

  
“There’s a formal?” Tony’s head shot up, suddenly forgetting about the avocado.

  
“How do you know about that?” Peter asked his grandma, not making eye contact with his dad across the table.

  
“Yeah, how do you know about the formal, mom?”

  
“I read my Chilton Newsletter.” Maria answered, as though it were obvious.

  
“Since when do you get a Chilton Newsletter?” Tony looked to Peter, as though his son would have an answer.

  
“Well, as a major contributor to Peter’s education, I figured I had the right to ask the school to send a newsletter to my house.” Maria explained as she stood up from her dining chair. “And it’s a good thing too, since you don’t bother to read yours. After all, one of us should be up-to-date on the going’s on at Peter’s school.”

  
“Hey, I read my newsletter.” Tony tried to defend himself.

  
“You did?” Maria asked as she grabbed her copy of the school pamphlet from the table in the foyer, bringing it back into the dining room.

  
“That’s right.” Tony nodded, picking up his fork again and going to remove another piece of avocado.

  
“What was the picture on the cover?” Maria asked as she sat back down, the newsletter in hand.

  
“Ugh, it was a picture of a really rich kid….” Tony paused, “dressed in plaid?”

  
“A spotted owl.” Maria turned the newsletter to show Tony the cover, handing it to him so that he could take a look.

  
“In plaid.” Tony joked as he took the pamphlet.

  
“The owls are endangered and Chilton is taking donations to help them.” Maria explained as she picked her fork back up, gesturing to Peter before she continued, “You gave a very nice one in case you’re interested.”

  
“Mom, don’t give donations on Peter’s behalf. I’ll do that.”

  
“How can you if you don’t bother to read the newsletter?” Maria questions, slightly smug.

  
“I read the newsletter.” Tony tried one more time.

  
“You didn’t know they were taking donations.” She pushed.

  
“They’re a private school, mom, they’re always taking donations for something.” Looking back down at his salad, Tony added, “I’ll get them next time.”

  
“What about the owls?”

  
“They’ll live, mom.”

  
“Well apparently they won’t, dear. That’s why they needed the donations in the first place.”

  
Tony snapped his head back up, biting his tongue. To keep himself from making a rude comment, he asked Peter, “So, you have a formal coming up?” No one mentioned the sharp stab that Tony made into his salad.

  
“Yeah, but I don’t think I’m going to go.” Peter explained with a shrug.

  
“Nonsense, Of course you’re going.” Maria replied, shocked that Peter would say such a thing.

  
“Mom, if Peter doesn’t want to go, he doesn’t have to.”

  
“Well I don’t understand why he wouldn’t want to go.” Maria seemed utterly confused. She would have thought Peter would want to at least have an excuse to bring a date. Even if it was that boy Tony had told her about from the birthday party.

  
“I know you don’t.” Tony nodded.

  
“I’m gonna go get another coke.” Peter explained as he got up from the table, escaping the rising tension while he could.

  
Once Peter had disappeared into the kitchen, Maria turned to her son, “What did you say to him?”

  
“What are you talking about?” Tony put down his fork, giving up on his salad as he felt an argument coming on.

  
“If he doesn’t want to go it must be because of something that you said.” Maria insisted, “What did you say to him to make him not want to go? Did you say something bad about his boyfriend?”

  
“Boyfriend? Mom what are you talking about?” Tony asked, “I promise, all I ever said to him about dances was that you go, you dance, you have punch, you eat, you take a picture, then you get auctioned off to a biker gang from Sausalito.”

  
“Anthony, this is serious.” Maria tried to ignore Tony’s jokes.

  
“Mom, I said nothing, okay? Peter’s disdain of formals is all his own. Let’s just drop it, please."

  
“Fine.” Maria gave up.

  
“Fine.” Tony agreed as he picked up his fork. Maria watched as his picked out the last bits of avocado.

  
-

  
Sitting in the car, Tony and Peter were on their way home from dinner. Tony had been relieved that the rest of dinner went by without another mention of the dance, but he couldn’t help this nagging voice in the back of his head that made him curious.

  
“So, why didn’t you mention the dance?” He finally asked, almost flinching when he heard himself bring it up.

  
“Because I’m not going.” Peter answered without thinking, his eyes glued to his phone as he texted Wanda back and forth.

  
“Oh,” Tony nodded, “But why aren’t you going?” He tried his best to sound genuinely curious. The last thing he wanted was to make Peter feel like he was being accused of a crime for not wanting to go to a high school dance.

  
“Because I hate dances.” Peter answered shortly, hoping that his close-ended answers would end the conversation.

  
“Good answer…except that you’ve never actually been to one.” Tony shrugged.

  
“So?”

  
“So, you really have nothing to compare it to. You don’t want to just base all of your opinions on dances from one midnight viewing of “Sixteen Candles” no matter how good that movie is.”

  
“So?” Peter asked one more time, not really understanding why his dad cared.

  
“So, you should have a decent reason for hating something before you decide you hate it.”

  
“Trust me, I’ll hate it. It’ll be stuffy and boring and the music will suck. And since none of the kids at school like me I’ll be standing in the back listening to the electric slide while watching Kate Bishop and America Chavez figure out how they can bust out and go make out somewhere without a chaperone noticing them.” Peter explained.

  
“Okay, or it’ll be all sparkly and exciting and you’ll be standing on the dance floor listening to Tom Waits with some great-looking guy staring at you and you wont even realize that Kate and America were eaten by bears.” Tony smiled, trying his best to be convincing.

  
“What guy?” Peter kept his eyes on his phone, hoping that his dad would let it go.

  
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe that guy that had his tongue down your throat at your birthday party.”

  
“Dad!” Peter snapped his head up to look at his dad, who was just as nonchalantly watching the road, letting out a small chuckle.

  
“Why do you even care all of a sudden if I go or not?” Peter asked, immediately trying to bring the subject away from Harry.

  
“I don’t care if you go. I just don’t want you to miss out on a cool life experience because you’re too afraid.”

  
“I’m afraid? Of what?”

  
“Of asking Harry? Of him saying no, of going to a dance with kids who haven’t accepted you yet, of dancing in public? Of finding out that you should never be dancing in public.” Tony listed off all of the things he remembered himself being afraid of when he was in high school.

  
“Okay, I get it. Damn.” Peter interrupted.

  
“Listen, Peter, I know you’re not exactly Mr. Life of the party and all, and I love you for that. But I sometimes wonder, do you not join in because you really don’t want to or because you’re too shy? If the reason you don’t want to go is because you really don’t want to go and not because you’re afraid, then this is the last time I’ll mention it. I promise.”

  
Peter paused for a moment, looking out of the passenger side window at the trees passing, before he muttered, “I don’t have a suit.”

  
“We can go see Jan.” Tony shrugged.

  
“Yeah?” Peter smiled, still not looking at his dad.

  
“Oh yeah, and she’ll match it with shoes and do your hair for you. You know how she loves playing dress up with you.” Tony smiled.

  
“You won’t think I’m an idiot?”

  
“Well that depends on what hairstyle you choose.” Tony joked.

-

He’s going to say no.” Peter exclaimed to Wanda as the two of them were sat at one of the back tables in the diner after school. It was during the before dinner lull, when the only people coming in were other business owners in town relaxing before the rest of their night.

  
“Why would he say no?” Wanda asked as she took a bite out of her sandwich.

  
“Why would he say yes?” Peter rebutted as he ate his fries.

  
“Peter, there’s absolutely no point in having a boyfriend if you can’t get him to go to a dance with you.” Wanda rolled her eyes as she explained. Lord help this poor gay boy she called her best friend.

  
“He’s not my boyfriend, and keep your voice down.” Peter looked around the diner, double-checking to make sure that no one was close enough to overhear. But his high hopes were crushed as soon as he saw Natasha, her brow quirked as Steve refilled her tea.

  
“Really? You’re kidding right?”

  
“No?” Peter asked confused.

  
“What is he then?” Wanda tried asking, not at all understanding what Peter was getting at.

  
“He’s my….gentleman caller.” He tried explaining.

  
“Okay, Blanche. Whatever you say,” Wanda rolled her eyes again, and Peter wondered if her eyes ever get tired from how often she seemed to do that around him.

  
“I don’t know what he is, but he’s not my boyfriend.” Peter paused before looking up from his burger, “Do you think he’s my boyfriend?”

  
“You spend a lot of time not kissing other people if this isn’t a boyfriend thing.” Wanda gestured out the window to the supermarket across the street where Mary-Jane was conveniently walking in to start her shift “Exhibit A.”

  
“Does the universe line up just so that you can make your point?” Peter squinted at her from across the table.

  
“It’s part of being a woman. We’re just always right.” She shrugged before bringing the subject back to Harry, not letting Peter go off topic again. “So, if you ask Harry to the dance that means you’re officially off the market….and MJ will know that.”

  
“You’re saying I have to choose.” Peter clarified.

  
“You knew you’d have to sooner or later, and with how little time you actually spend with MJ it seems like you made up your mind. You just need to man up and make it official with Harry.”

  
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Peter’s shoulders slumped, “But how?”

  
“Look, have you had the talk yet?” Wanda asked, reaching over to Peter’s plate and snatching a couple of fries.

  
“Yes, Wanda, babies come from the stork.”

  
“The other talk.” Wanda specified, her tone deadpan.

  
“What other talk is there?” Peter asked, almost afraid of what the answer would be.

  
Wanda folded her fingers together, elbows on the table. Taking on a slightly dramatic tone in her voice to show she was acting the part, “We’ve been seeing each other for a few weeks now, shared some private moments. Where do we stand? What are we to each other? If another person asks you out, do you feel free to go?”

  
“How is it that you know so much about this?” Peter asked.

  
“Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach. Besides, you have to do something so I can live vicariously through you and pretend I’m the one dating a gorgeous millionaire.”

  
Both of them jumped slightly at the sound of a diner chair scraping against the tile floor right next to them. Having pulled chairs over, Bucky and Natasha sat down with them.

Taking a fry and dipping it in ketchup, Bucky asked, “Who’s dating a gorgeous millionaire?”

  
“Stop tormenting my customers, you two!” Steve warned them from the counter as he brought out a plate of food for himself for lunch.

  
Ignoring him, Natasha asked, “It’s the guy Tony brought to the movie the other night, right? Tall, dark hair, educated looking, but slightly menacing?”

  
“You didn’t tell me your dad was seeing someone!” Wanda announced.

  
“I don’t know if it’s official!” Peter tried to explain, “Besides, I don’t want to know what’s going on with that. It’s weird on a lot of levels.”

  
“Looked pretty official to me.” Bucky shrugged.

  
“Alright, that’s enough.” Steve interrupted, “We shouldn’t be gossiping about Tony’s personal life.”

  
“Fine, besides, we were talking about Peter asking someone to the dance at his school. He’s being a chicken.” Wanda shrugged, relaying the conversation as her payback for Peter not telling her about his dad’s latest gossip.

  
“Wanda!” Peter nearly shouted.

  
“That’s what you get for not telling me things.” She explained before going in for another bite of her sandwich.

  
“She’s hanging out with you too much.” Bucky snickered as he nudged Natasha.

  
Smiling, Natasha asked, “So, who’s the lucky millionaire that’s after you, Peter?”

  
“What? No one!” Peter nearly panicked.

  
“You might as well tell us kid. It’s not like we’re gonna interfere with anything except maybe offer a bit of friendly advice.” Bucky shrugged. He knew better than to try and parent other people’s kids, but Peter seemed to be lacking some serious self-confidence.

  
“It’s just someone from school…” Peter paused before continuing, “They were at my birthday party.”

  
“Ah, Harry was it?” Natasha asked.

  
Peter nodded, not really wanting to have this conversation in the middle of the town diner.

  
“If you like them Peter, you should tell them. You don’t want to have things go unsaid, you might regret it later on.” Steve offered from the counter politely.

  
“If that’s not the most hypocritical thing you’ve ever said in you’re god damn life!” Bucky practically yelled, whipping around to face Steve behind him.

  
Wanda wished she had a cup of tea in front of her, but settled on sipping her soda as she watched the adults going at each other’s throats.

  
“Yeah really Steve, you’re the last person on this planet who’s allowed to give advice like that.” Natasha agreed.

  
“Steve likes someone?” Peter asked, entirely oblivious to what exactly the three were talking about.

  
“Oh you poor ignorant kid.” Bucky shook his head.

  
“What? What do you mean?” Peter asked.

  
“Anyways, Peter. Just tell the person how you feel.” Natasha changed the subject as she side-eyed Steve.

  
“That’s the stupid part. They’re already basically together. Peter just doesn’t know how to ask him to the dance!” Wanda explained exasperated.

  
“Oh…then he basically is already saying yes.” Bucky shrugged.

  
“That’s what I’m saying.” Wanda agreed, “Just pull the band-aid off Peter, you’ll be happy you did.”  
“Maybe.” Peter shrugged, turning back to his food.

  
-

  
Later that night, Tony and Peter were in Jan’s shop as she put the final pins into the suit, “Awe Peter this is so exciting. Your first dance!” Jan was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet as she spoke. If she wasn’t so good at what she does, Peter would be afraid that one of those pins would slip right into him.

  
“Yeah, I’m kind of nervous.” Peter had to fight back a nervous shrug so he wouldn’t shift any of the pins that Jan had placed in the suit jacket.

  
“Awe don’t be, you’ll have a great time. You’ll have some punch, dance a little, take some cute pictures. Then twenty years from now you’ll be pulling up old selfies and laughing.” Jan grinned as she pulled away from Peter, “Alright, you’re all set kiddo. I’ll make the last few changes and get it back to you soon as I can.”

  
“Thanks again, Jan.” Tony thanked as the expert tailor began putting her things away and Peter went to change back into his normal hoodie.

  
“Oh no problem, you know I love playing dress up with you boys.” She smiled.

  
“Here ya go,” Peter handed back the suit, “thanks Jan.”

  
“See ya tomorrow, Jan.” Tony waved as the two walked out of the small shop. Just as the door shut behind them Tony’s cell started to ring. Taking it out and checking the called ID he saw that it was his mother, “You go on ahead, I need to deal with your grandmother.”

  
“I’m gonna order us some chili fries, you want anything?” Peter asked as he motioned to the diner across the small courtyard park.

  
“Yeah tell Steve to get a keg but to just fill it with coffee.” Tony joked as he answered his phone, “What’s up, mom?”

  
“Tony, I want to talk about Peter’s dance. It’s just killing me that he’s not going.” Maria explained.

  
“Uh-huh.” Tony sat down on a bench next to the gazebo in the park, figuring this might take a while.

  
“It may seem frivolous and silly to him now but believe me, these are the kinds of experiences you regret missing later.” Maria went on, hardly stopping for a breath.

  
“OK.” Best to let her go on for a bit before cutting her off and be scolded for interrupting.

  
“And regret can make you bitter. Do you want Peter to be bitter?”

  
“Well, sort of. I was thinking of leaning more towards cynical.” Tony joked, looking down at his shoes.

 

“Anthony.”

  
“What, mom? He can make some cash off of it. Become a crazy Oscar Levant kind of celebrity, go on talk shows, heckle Regis.” Maybe someday his mother would learn when he was joking.

  
“I wish you would take this seriously.” Maria stated shortly.

  
“Mom, Peter is going to the dance.” He finally explained.

  
“Oh, he is?” Maria’s voice immediately turned up, sounding far less serious, “That’s wonderful, I’m thrilled.”

  
“Yup, we just got out of the tailor’s and his suit is being adjusted.”

  
“Oh dear, please tell me you let the tailor dress him and he’s not going in some gaudy red and gold thing you picked out.” Maria rolled her eyes.

  
“I’ll have you know red and gold look stunning on me and they’d look just as good on Peter.” Tony defended.

  
“Anthony, please.” Maria chastised.

  
“We let her design it.” Tony replied, hoping it would keep her at bay.

  
“Oh thank goodness.” He swore he could hear her blood pressure returning to normal just by her tone.

  
“Well if that’s all you were calling for then I gotta go, mom.”

  
“Oh just one more thing. Take a picture for me, will you please?” Tony couldn’t help but smile. It wasn’t often that he heard her so genuinely thrilled.

  
“I will, mom.”

  
“One of you together, oh and make sure you get one with his date. And make sure that the lighting is right, it’s no use taking pictures if you can barely see them.” Maria explained.

  
“Mom, would you like to come over and see Peter off to the dance?” Tony finally gave in and asked.

  
“Why, what a nice idea, I’d love that, thank you. I’ll see you at 7.” Maria smiled as she hung up the phone.

  
Staring at his phone, Tony nodded, “Yup, fell right into that one.”

  
-

  
The next day at school, Peter had just gotten off of the bus and was looking around in the halls before class was about to start. All morning he had been psyching himself up for asking Harry to the dance and didn’t want to lose his confidence waiting for class to be over. He knew he wouldn’t be able to focus, all of the possible rejections going through his head and how embarrassing it would be.

  
“Hey Pete.”

  
Peter flinched, knocking into someone walking next to him at the sudden voice right behind him.

  
“Whoa, ugh, hey Harry. Didn’t see you there.” Peter smiled sheepishly.

  
“Didn’t mean to scare you,” Harry smirked, “Hey, you got a minute?”

  
“Yeah sure.” Peter nodded as the two of them rounded the corner, getting out of the busy hallway and into the classroom before anyone else came in.

  
“So, about this dance,” Harry spoke up as he put his stuff down and hopping up to sit on Peter’s desk, “what time should I come pick you up?”

  
Peter could practically feel his knees give out under him. He had been going over and over in his head what he was going to say all night and on the entire bus ride over this morning and here Harry was asking it so casually. God why couldn’t he be that calm and collected.

  
“Oh, whatever time works, my grandma will actually want to get a picture of us if it’s not too weird.” Peter’s head was still reeling.

  
“So I gotta lay on the Osborn charm heavy then, dressed to the nines.” Harry smirked.

  
“As if my family doesn’t already love you.” Peter shook his head.

  
Students started filling the room slowly and Peter could see Mr. Laufeyson coming in as Harry hopped off of the desk. “Just let me know what color tie your wearing. My mom will kill me if we don’t match.”

  
Peter nodded as the bell rang. Sitting down at his desk, he hoped his knees would stop being weak by the time class was over.

  
-

  
“Come on already!” Tony shouted from his spot on the couch next to his mother.

  
“Just a minute!” Peter shouted back before he came walking down the stairs, buttoning up the blue suit jacket. His crimson tie still undone as it hung from his neck.

  
Maria got up from the couch and came over to Peter, quickly doing the tie and making sure it was straight. “Oh Peter you look wonderful.”

  
“Thanks grandma.” Peter smiled as his grandma went to fix his hair.

  
“Lookin good kiddo.” Tony smiled as he got up, grabbing Peter’s new camera off of the end table. “Mom, a picture with Peter?” Tony asked as he held it up.

  
“A great idea.” She smiled as she shifted to stand beside him, her arm around his shoulder. With a soft click Tony lowered the camera just as the doorbell rang, “I’ll get it.”

  
Maria took the camera from Tony before turning to smooth down a stray hair for Peter. “There’s nothing to be nervous of, Peter. Just have fun.”

  
Nodding he answered, “I will.” Easier said than done.

  
“Looking snazzy, Pete.” Harry smiled as he walked in from the foyer with Tony, “Mrs. Stark.” He politely greeted.

  
“Harry, don’t you look wonderful.” Maria smiled, making sure to take note of the tie that perfectly matched Peter’s. No doubt that it wasn’t a coincidence. “Why don’t we get a picture of you two then you can go have fun and stop humoring us old folks.”

  
“Speak for yourself.” Tony quipped as he sat on the arm of the couch, waiting for Maria to snap the photo.

  
“I’ll make sure to send a copy to your mother, Harry.” Maria smiled, ignoring Tony’s comment completely.

  
“She’d love that.” Harry smiled, “We better get going, Peter.”

  
“Yeah sure thing.” Peter nodded as he lead Harry towards the front door, “I’ll see you guys later.”

  
Almost just as soon as the two of them were out the door, Tony heard Harry’s car start up.

  
“Speak for yourself? Really, Tony?” Maria sat down on the couch again, asking about Tony’s smart remark.

  
-

  
Sliding into the passenger seat of Harry’s car, Peter took a second to collect himself, breathing in the scent of leather and the new car smell. He was really doing this, going on a real date with Harry, and where all of their school could see them. As Harry got in, Peter took a second to look at what the other was wearing.

  
“You weren’t kidding when you said to the nines, huh?” Peter snarked.

  
“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Harry smirked as he went to put the car into drive. Peter’s hand stopped him before he could, making him look up just in time to catch Peter’s lips with his own. Separating from the kiss, Harry nodded, “A very good compliment.”

  
Peter held back a chuckle as he let go of Harry’s hand, letting him shift into drive, “Well you know I’ve heard the suit makes the man.”

  
As Harry pulled out of the driveway, he explained, “In your case it might be the man that makes the suit.”

  
-

  
Walking into the ballroom, Peter’s eyes had to adjust to the dimmer light coming from the fairy lights strung from the ceiling. Light blue and red flowers decorated the room in the academy’s signature colors.

  
“Wow, it’s only just started and everyone is already bored.” Harry took a look around as he and Peter entered. “Well, almost everyone.” He added, gesturing to the grand stair case at the back of the room where America Chavez and Kate Bishop were already making out.

  
“You’d think that they would have some respect for people who aren’t into voyeurism.” Peter watched as a chaperone went to separate the two girls, no doubt that it wouldn’t be the last time for the night.

  
“So, you wanna dance?” Harry offered his hand as he motioned towards the dance floor. There were already a few people dancing, and Peter was relieved when none of the people sitting around seemed to care enough to watch anyone make a fool out of themselves.

  
“Only if you don’t mind if I step on your feet once or twice.” Peter smiled as took Harry’s hand in his own, letting the other lead him towards the dancing crowd.

  
“I knew I should have brought my steel-toed boots.” Harry shook his head as he and Peter made it onto the floor in time for a slow song to come on.

  
“I’ll have to remind you for next time.” Letting Harry lead him, Peter was surprised at how easy it was. It wasn’t like they were doing anything fancier than really just holding onto each other, but still he was expecting to make an idiot out of himself.

  
“Already planning for a next time?” Harry teased as he entwined their fingers together.

  
“What can I say? Always thinking one step ahead.”

  
“Speaking of steps ahead, does this mean I can officially call you my boyfriend now?” Harry asked.

  
“Depends, if I’m the boyfriend then what do I get to call you?” Peter teased. He’d been panicking just a few days ago over whether or not he and Harry were officially together. And now Harry was again answering all of his prayers and making it that much easier to say exactly what he’d been thinking.

  
“How about something with a more regal ring to it? Your highness should do just fine.” Harry teased back.

  
“And ever so humble, I sure am a lucky guy.”

  
“Nah, I think I’m the one that got lucky.” Harry leaned in for a kiss. And on the middle of the dance floor, under twinkling lights, in a room that couldn’t be more crowded, Peter couldn’t even feel all of the eyes that were staring at them.

  
-

  
“So, you two are dating?” Kate asked as she and America sat down at the table with Peter and Harry.

  
“What gave it away?” Harry asked as he took a sip of the punch that was already luke warm from the ice having melted in the punch bowl ages ago.

  
“I don’t know, maybe having your tongues down each other’s throats on the middle of the dance floor was a small clue.” America teased cheerfully.

  
“Well you two are the experts on PDA.” Peter pointed out, surprisingly not as embarrassed as he thought he would be. It was less humiliating and more just a relief. No one had said anything rude or insulting about what they had seen and everything was, amazingly, going just fine.

  
“Yeah how many times have you two needed to be separated exactly?” Harry asked.

  
“I lost count after 4.” Kate shrugged.

  
“Gay disasters, all of you.” Their classmate Shuri chimed in as she shook her head.

  
-

  
Peter and Harry had decided to leave the dance a little early. Maybe out of boredom or restlessness, maybe just because they were excited at finally being each other’s boyfriend, Peter wasn’t entirely sure. But now they were driving back to Stars Hollow in Harry’s car and they were talking, laughing, and Harry had one hand on the steering wheel, the other casually laced together with Peter’s. Occasionally he would bring the hand up to his lips and press a kiss against the back of it.

  
“Why do you keep doing that? N-Not that I don’t like it.” Peter explained as Harry turned into the driveway.

  
“Well I couldn’t kiss your face and keep my eyes on the road now could I.” Harry stated, kissing Peter’s hand again as he parked the car. “But now I don’t need to watch, so come here.”

  
With a blush bright on his cheeks, Peter leaned over the arm rest to lock lips. It was slightly different this time, each of them more confident, and the taste of stale punch on their lips. Before he knew it, five minutes had passed, then ten, then twenty had gone by just sitting in his driveway. If it wasn’t for the neighbor’s porch lights flicking on, Peter isn’t sure if he would have even noticed the time.

  
“I should go inside.” Peter said, before leaning in again and making no sign of wanting to leave. “It’s getting late.”

  
“Text me, yeah?” Harry asked, leaning in again. “And I’ll see you on Monday?”

  
Nodding, Peter went in for one last chaste kiss before he forced his hand to pull away from his boyfriend’s hair, and reach for the door handle. “Monday.”

  
Stepping out into the cool night, Peter walked up to the front door and let himself in, to see his dad fast asleep on the couch. Quietly heading up the stairs, Peter grabbed his phone and went to call Wanda.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this one took so long. I feel like I say that every chapter but like I promise I'm working on it. I'm just busy and lack motivation. I also don't know why the spacing is so weird idk just go with it.


	10. Kiss & Tell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony gets nervous when Peter starts getting used to Loki being part of their lives. Meanwhile Peter is happy to see his dad so happy.

“L.”

“Laryngitis.” Tony announced as he and Peter walked through town together, “M.”

“Mumps,” Peter answered, “N.”

“Narcolepsy, O.”

“Are we really going to do this every time we have to decide who cleans out the fridge?” Peter asked as the two continued walking, looking for something to eat.

“Do you want to go back to thumb wrestling?” Tony asked, offering out his thumb.

“Osteoporosis. P?”

“Puppies!” Tony announced as he ran across the street.

“That’s not a disease.” Peter thought out loud before seeing the dog adoption fair going on in the town’s central courtyard and going to run after his dad. “Oh boy.”

“Hi, oh hi.” Tony happily greeted the puppies before stopping in front of a crate. “Awe Peter, look.”

“Dad.” Peter tried to be stern, already knowing that if he left his dad alone then they’d end up with at least 3 dogs.

“Buttercup was found cold and wet, shivering under a hydrangea bush along highway 26.” Tony read off of the ticket attached to the dog’s crate, “Awe that’s a sad highway.”

“As opposed to all the other happy highways she could’ve been abandoned by?” Peter asked.

“Her lineage includes cocker spaniel, golden retriever, bouvier des flanders-“

“Gesundheith.”

“Thank you, and rottweiler.” Tony finished reading.

“Buttercup is a special dog. She’s extremely skiddish and tends to react badly towards children of either sex, red clothing, watches, cabbage, or anyone in a uniform.” Peter read off the rest of the ticket as Steve walked over towards them.

“Hey, we just found the doggy version of you.” Tony teased.

“Can I help you?” A volunteer offered, seeing the two interested in the dog.

“Don’t let these two anywhere near a dog. They can barely feed themselves.” Steve explained to the guy.

“Hey, we’d be excellent pet owners.” Tony crossed his arms.

“You cannot be serious.” Peter gave his dad a sideways look.

“We could give him a new name.” Tony explained, already trying to come up with some better ones.

“It’s a girl.” Peter pointed out on the info ticket.

“Cause this ‘Buttercup’ thing’s really gotta go.” Tony continued, clearly ignoring his son’s protests.

“Do I need to remind you of Skippy?” Peter asked.

“Skippy?” Steve repeated, suddenly interested.

“I can’t believe you would bring up Skippy.”

“Skippy was our hamster.” Peter explained to Steve. “Every time Dad would put his hand into his cage he’d bite him.”

“And laugh.” Tony added on.

“Hamsters can’t laugh, Tony.” Steve shook his head.

“This one laughed.”

“So finally he got fed up.” Peter continued.

“Of being laughed at by a hamster?” Steve teased as he stuck his fingers into the puppies cage to see if she would play.

“So he stopped cleaning its cage. Instead, every day he would stuff some Kleenex in there.” Peter explained, “This keeps going on and the cage is just a cage full of Kleenex that moves a little. Then he takes the cage to the place where we bought him, waits for the sales guy to go behind the desk and dumps it on the counter then bolts.”

“You abandoned Skippy.” Steve shook his head.

“Look, I know it was bad, but this was a vicious hamster. This was like a Damien hamster with little beady eyes and a big forked tail and…a cape with a…hood…and… bye bye Buttercup. Bye Steve.” Tony gave up on fighting for the dog.

“You did the right thing.” Peter encouraged as he led his dad away from the puppies.

“I want a pet.” Tony frowned slightly, patting a dog’s head as they walked by.

“You have me.” Peter answered as he further steered his dad away.

“You won’t bring me my slippers in the morning.” Tony complained.

“I might if you had slippers.”

As the two walked away, Steve turned back to the dogs, happy to play with them. Maybe he’d adopt a pet of his own one of these days. Afterall, Bucky had his three-legged cat.

-

Sitting in Loki’s apartment, Tony had taken a seat on the counter top, eating out of the Tupperware that held the leftovers from their dinner.

“God this is good.” Tony exclaimed in between bites.

“Alright, correct me if I’m wrong.” Loki shook his head as he wiped down a glass with a dish towel, “Twenty minutes ago we were sitting at the dinner table, were we not?”

“Yes we were.” Tony nodded, picking up the salt shaker and adding some to the food.

“There were candles and flowers and cloth napkins.” Loki went on, putting a plate onto the drying rack, “And the entire time we were sat at said dinner table, you ate two, maybe three bites of this amazing dinner I made for you. And yet, as soon as that dinner’s over and I start cleaning up, suddenly that’s when you’re starving.”

“What can I say? Watching someone work makes me hungry.” Tony smirked, “If I hadn’t stopped watching the “Property Brothers” I’d be 500 pounds right now.” Changing the subject,   
Tony asked, “So, where did you learn to cook osso bucco anyway?”

“Well my mother was quite the cook.” Loki answered, not looking up to Tony as he spoke, finishing with the dishes.

“So an old boyfriend, huh?” Tony asked, knowing that Loki wasn’t telling him the truth.

“Yup.” He admit.

“You should really work on your lying.” Tony teased as he put the lid back onto the Tupperware.

“Surprisingly you’re the only person that thinks so.” Loki teased back as he reached for a coffee cup from the cupboard, “Would you like some coffee?”

“Yes please.” Tony hopped off of the counter, putting the leftovers down as he wandered around Loki’s apartment and over towards his desk. “Hey, did you read Peter’s paper yet?”

“Not yet.” Loki answered from across the room.

“It’s really good.”

“I’m sure it is.”

“You know I could just save you the time and put an ‘A’ on it for you now.” Tony quipped, picking up a red pen from Loki’s desk and conveniently placing Peter’s paper right on top of the pile.

“Well that wouldn’t be fair to the other students whose fathers aren’t here tonight would it?” Loki answered, knowing that Tony wasn’t serious.

“Life isn’t fair and the sooner those kids learn that the better.” Tony explained as he walked past the desk and turned to face the multiple bookshelves lining the wall. Each shelf lined with limited editions, classic literature, plays, and poetry books. “Wow, these are beautiful.” Tony thought out loud as he picked one up that caught his eye. “Hm, I’ve never read Proust. I always wanted to. Every now and then, I’m seized with an overwhelming urge to say something like ‘As Marcel Proust would say…’ but of course I have no idea what Marcel Proust would say so I don’t even go there. I could say ‘As Michael Crichton would say…’ but it’s not exactly the same you know.” 

“Then you should take it.” Loki suggested, smiling as he poured their coffee into two mugs, adding sugar and cream just how Tony liked it.

“Oh no, it looks so valuable.” Tony shook his head, turning the book over in his hands.

“It’s a book. It’s meant to be read.” Loki offered.

“How poetic of you.” Tony teased, “Is this my required reading?”

Rolling his eyes, Loki reached for the book, taking it out of the other’s hands and putting it back onto the table, leaning in for a kiss as he did.

“But I won’t make the cheerleading squad.” Tony teased again, going in for another kiss and letting Loki guide him towards the separate bedroom. “Is this my extra credit? I thought I just had to write an essay.”

Once in the bedroom, Tony shut the door behind him.

-

Tony opened the front door as quietly as he could, seeing Peter’s bedroom light off and thinking that his son would be asleep at such a late hour. Passing through the foyer, Tony hung up his coat, taking his shoes off and carrying his book with him. Heading into the living room towards the stairs, he saw Peter asleep on the couch laid out under a spare blanket, his copy of ‘Brave New World’ open in his lap. Turning to head up the stairs, Tony only got onto the second step when he heard Peter’s voice.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Peter turned to look at his dad, sitting up in the nest of blankets he had made for himself on the couch, slumped into the cushions.

“You’re awake.” Tony answered, not sure what to say to his son.

“It’s one in the morning.” He jokingly chastised, like a dad waiting up for their kid after staying out past curfew.

“I know, but my watch stopped.” Tony grinned sheepishly, “during a terrible car wreck and I had to save kittens and small children and four baby chicks.”

Peter shook his head, “Did you have a nice time?”

Tony felt a bit like a lovesick teenager as he remembered his night, “Not bad.”

“That’s a big smile for a not-bad night.” Peter questioned, sitting up and making room for Tony to sit at his feet.

“Yeah, well…” Tony trailed on before changing the subject, “Hey, he loaned me a book. ‘Swann’s Way’.”

“Aren’t we ambitious.” Peter teased, knowing that his dad wasn’t as into literature as he was.

“Yes, we are.”

“You know what it means when a man loans you a book, don’t you?” Peter teased.

“That he’s already read it.” Tony joked before asking, “How was your night?”

“Ugh, homework.” Peter answered, pointing to show his math books still sitting open on the coffee table.

“How many times did you and Harry call?” 

“Not that many. Two.” Peter answered before he saw Tony’s pointed look, “Four.”

Tony chuckled, “Not an all time high but still respectable.” Moving to get up from the couch, he asked, “I’m going to bed, you staying here?”

“Yeah, I’ve got the cushions in the perfect mushed position.” Peter pulled the blanket over him again and lying back down.

Leaning down, Tony placed a kiss on Peter’s forehead before jokingly adding, “Night, dad.”

“Yeah, you just go think about what you’ve done.”

“Oh, I will.” Tony teased cheerfully before heading up the stairs.

-

“How’s the squab?” Maria asked over the dinner table.

“It’s good.” Peter answered between bites.

“It’s the best tiny, weird bird I’ve ever eaten.” Tony agreed.

“Well I’m glad.” Maria smiled as she went back to her dinner.

“Why are you smiling like that?” Tony asked, not entirely liking the grin on his mother’s face.

“What are you talking about?” Maria arched an eyebrow.

“That’s your ‘I’ve got something on Tony’ smile.” He pointed out. “I grew up with that smile, I know that smile.”

“Tell me about school, Peter.” Maria turned to her grandson, entirely ignoring Tony and his antics.

“Well, my French test went pretty well.” Peter answered, not sure if he should be letting himself get in the middle of whatever was happening.

“You can change the subject, but I know the smile.” Tony shrugged, “I’ve used it myself once or twice.”

“Dad.” Peter tried getting him to stop joking around.

“So tell me about parent’s day.” Maria asked.

“W-what?” Peter asked.

“Parent’s day? Next Wednesday? When all the parents are supposed to go to classes with their children all day long?” Maria explained, looking to Tony.

“The Chilton newsletter came out today!” Tony let his fork drop to the plate at figuring out why his mother was so excited.

“You didn’t read yours?” Maria asked, as though she didn’t already know the answer.

“Not yet, but you knew that.” Tony looked over to Peter and held his hand out towards Maria as if to say ‘see what I put up with?’, “Hence, the smile.”

“Anthony, you’re being silly.” Maria put her fork down as the maid refilled her wine glass, “There’s no evil plan a foot here. I simply brought up a subject I thought we could all talk about. I’ll try another – the color blue is very pleasant isn’t it?” She added sarcastically.

“Mom, not everybody can wait outside the mailbox for the Chilton newsletter to arrive and then instantly memorize the contents. I work all day, and on Fridays, when the newsletter arrives, I go home and change right away so that I can come here.” Tony explained, his voice rising only slightly.

“I’d like to weigh in on the blue color subject please.” Peter tried, before being cut off again.

“You have your priorities, far be it from me to question them.” Maria shrugged.

“Just because I don’t read the newsletter as soon as it arrives doesn’t mean that I don’t care about my son.” Tony tried again.

“So are you going?”

“To what?” Tony shook his head, feeling as though he got whiplash.

“Parent’s day.” Maria pointed out.

“Why don’t we talk about it next Friday when I’ve actually read the newsletter. I guarantee it’ll be more fun.”

“We could, except for the fact that parents day is next Wednesday. If we talked about it on Friday then you would’ve missed it.”

“Wednesday huh?” Tony thought, immediately running through the long list of things he had to do on Wednesday to get ready for the Saturday wedding reception. 

“It’s okay dad, you don’t have to be there.” Peter cut in.

“I guess we can talk about how you missed it.” Maria shrugged again.

“I won’t miss it.” Tony turned to his mother again, seeing the smug look on her face.

“It’s not a big deal, you’re busy.” Peter tried again.

“You know what, I’ll go!” Maria smiled to Peter.

“What?” Tony shook his head, feeling the migraine coming on.

“Why not?” Maria asked, “You have work. I, as you’ve insinuated, have no life. So I will go sit with Peter at parent’s day.”

“I’m not busy, I will be there. End of story okay?” Tony ended the subject before taking a forkful of his dinner.

“Fine.” Maria agreed, “Did you read on page two about the father/son talent show?”

Tony immediately choked on his food, reaching for the glass of water in front of him.

“You okay?” Peter had to bite back a laugh as he watched his dad’s expression and the small smile on his grandmother’s face.

-

“There’s a certain slant of light, winter afternoons that oppresses like the heft of cathedral tunes.” Mr. Laufeyson quoted as he lectured to the class, “That is the first verse of a poem by Emily Dickenson. Tonight read some of them and consider the fact that Emily Dickenson writes convincingly about passion and about the world in spite of the fact that she lives as a virtual recluse.” Mr. Laufeyson continued on with his lecture when Peter heard a girl behind him whisper to her friend sitting next to her.

“I could listen to him talk about passion for hours. Do you think he’s dating anyone?”

Peter froze, his hand tensing around his pen as he stopped writing his notes mid-sentence.

“Of course he is. I bet she’s pretty.” The other girl answered.

“I bet she’s dumb.” The first girl replied, Peter couldn’t help but to continue listening, even though he knew he should be focusing on the lesson, “Dumb girls crave smart men.

“Whoever she is, she’s lucky.”

Peter snapped out of it as the bell rang and the girls stood up. Shutting his notebook he figured he’d get the notes he missed from Harry later. 

-

Peter was sitting at the kitchen table as his dad was getting ready for a date with Mr. Laufeyson. Every so often his dad would call out asking if Peter knew where a certain pair of shoes were lost in his room or if he knew where Tony had left his wallet.

“Did you check your night stand?” Peter shouted back.

“I did, it’s not there!”

“Top right hand drawer?” Peter tried again, waiting for Tony to look.

“Nope!”

“Sock drawer?”

Before Tony could reply, the door bell rang and they both froze.

“What was that?” Tony called out.

“The doorbell rang!” Peter sprang up from the kitchen table and went to the bottom of the stair case.

“Why did the doorbell ring?” Tony came to talk to Peter from the top of the stairs.

“Because somebody’s at the door?”

“It’s 8. Who shows up at 8 for an 8 o’clock date?” Tony asked, fussing with his sleeves.

“I don’t know, maybe a Chilton teacher?”

“Everybody knows 8 means 8:20, 8:15 tops!”

Loki, still waiting by the front door, couldn’t help but to shake his head and chuckle to himself as he overheard the two inside.

“Obviously he was raised in a barn.” Peter tried to joke, heading back towards the kitchen.

“Wait, you have to get the door, I’m not ready yet.” Tony grabbed Peter’s arm.

“What? I’m not supposed to get the door. Remember? We agreed.”

“Just this once, I promise.” Tony stated as he ran back up the stairs, leaving Peter.

Turning to the door, Peter took a deep breath before opening the door.

“Peter,” Loki greeted, clearing his throat.

“Hi, come on in.” Peter held the door open as Mr. Laufeyson came in.

“Thank you.”

“You ugh, want to come sit?” Peter asked, closing the door, shimmying with the broken lock that his dad hadn’t had time to fix.

“Oh sure,” Loki agreed, walking towards the living room with Peter, “So, any plans tonight?.”

“Well, Harry’s coming over.” He explained as the two sat down awkwardly. “You guys?”

“Dinner and a movie.”

“Right.”

“This is a bit uncomfortable, isn’t it?” Loki asked.

“Yeah...just a bit.” Peter nodded, glancing up at the stairs again.

“But the thing is, if things go well, the way I hope they’re going, then we might do this again.” Loki supplied, trying to ease the tension between them.

“Sitting uncomfortably?”

“Seeing each other outside of school.” Loki clarified.

“That’s okay. I’m fine with this whole you and my dad thing.” Peter explained, even if it was a bit strange.

“Good, I’m glad. I don’t want this to be difficult for you.” Loki said earnestly, happy that Peter wasn’t opposed to the idea.

“I appreciate that, and I know my dad does too.” Peter agreed moving to stand up, “Well, I should go. I think dad’s probably ready.”

“It’s good talking to you, Peter.” Loki stood up with him.

“You too, Mr. Laufeyson.” Peter replied, turning to leave.

“Why don’t you call me, Loki? Just when we’re out of school.” He offered, hoping that the difference might make it a bit less awkward for the young boy.

Turning back, Peter hesitated before answering, “I don’t know if I can do that.”

Sitting onto the arm of the couch, Loki shrugged, “Why not?”

“It just sounds…wrong.” Peter explained before explaining, “I mean that it just sounds disrespectful.”

“You know, you’re probably one of the few teenagers that would worry about disrespecting a teacher.” Loki grinned, he knew Peter was a good kid, but he figured that he was now getting a better idea.

“My dad says I need to work on my rebellious streak a bit more.” Peter shrugged. 

“Take it from someone who had a bit of a rebellious streak himself, you’re better off not.”

“You?” Peter asked, disbelieving that an English literature professor as upright as Mr. Laufeyson could ever do something against the rules.

“I’m in a relationship with one of my student’s parents, aren’t I?” 

Peter couldn’t help but to chuckle at that, “Point taken.” Motioning back towards the kitchen, he added, “I better go.”

“Have a good time with Harry tonight.” Mr. Laufeyson nodded as Peter disappeared into the kitchen.

Turning to poke his head around the corner, Peter joked, “Oh, and Loki? Have him home by 11 this time.”

-

Peter was sitting at the counter of the Stars & Stripes Diner, his history book out in front of him with a plate of onion rings as he waited for his dad.

“I can’t believe you won’t just sell them to me.” Clint stormed into the diner, Bruce trailing after him.

“And I can’t believe you’re being so small minded.” Bruce replied as Peter turned to look at the bizarre looking vegetable in Bruce’s hand.

“My stuffed fried squash blossoms are one of our most popular items, Bruce.” Clint turned to look at the other, the entire diner watching the two of them as they argued in the middle of the small restaurant. “People come from all over and demand the fried stuffed squash blossoms.”

“I know, that’s exactly my point.” Bruce tried to cut in, but Clint continued to go off on his small rant.

“What’ll you have sir? Anything that comes with the stuffed fried squash blossoms. That’s what I hear day in and day out.” He explained, poking Bruce in the chest for emphasis.

“Yes, great, but all I’m asking is to try stuffing something a little different this time. It might be a new hit!” 

“A zucchini tush.” Clint crossed his arms over his chest. “You want me to serve my customers a genetically engineered vegetable that’s named after a butt?”

“Hey, this is an all-natural vegetable hybrid that’s perfectly safe and delicious.” Looking at the veggie, Peter could see what looked like a zucchini shaped like a weird peach. “Yeah it looks a little odd, but you can put it on the map.”

“I want the blossoms.” Clint said deadpan, clearly not impressed.

“Fine, you wanna think small. Think small.” Bruce gave up before turning to leave the diner.

Sighing, Clint moved to sit next to Peter at the counter.

“Bruce invented a new vegetable again?” Peter asked, sliding the plate of onion rings over and letting Clint have some.

“Yup.” He nodded, dipping the onion ring into some ketchup. “It’s too bad that yoga didn’t work out for him.”

Tony walked into the diner, ice skates in hand as he announced, “Hey, I found them.”

“Where were they?” Peter asked as he closed his textbook.

“In the pantry under the roasting pans.” Tony answered as he sat down on the other side of Peter, explaining to Clint what they were doing, “Peter and I have a skate date.”

“Which one of you is Tonya Harding?” Clint teased.

“Dad is, you should see him reenact the whole shoe lace coming untied – nervous breakdown – let me start again act.” Peter teased before picking up his soda to finish it off.

Clint groaned as he got a text message, his phone hadn’t stopped going off since he left the inn that morning.

“Anything wrong?” Tony asked as Clint checked his messages.

“Too much yeast, too little bowl.” He answered, eating one last onion ring before going to leave, “Have fun getting your legs broke, Nancy.” Clint teased, patting Peter on the back before waving goodbye.

“Hey, what if we invite Loki?” Peter turned to his dad and asked.

“L-Loki?”

“Yeah, I thought maybe he’d want to go.” Peter shrugged.

“Since when do you call him Loki?” Tony shook his head.

“Well, the other night he said that I should probably call him something other than Mr. Laufeyson when we’re outside of school. Which makes sense, so I’m getting used to saying ‘Loki’.”

“W-you don’t see him that much outside school.” 

“No, but I probably will since you guys are obsessed with each other.” Peter teased.

“Yeah, well I wouldn’t say obsessed.”

“So what do you think about the skating?” Peter asked, still not having gotten an answer.

“What?” Tony shook his head, trying to snap himself back into the conversation

“Mr. Laufeyson, I mean Loki. Do you think he’d wanna go?” Peter tried again.

“You know, I don’t think he skates.”

“Well maybe we could do something else together.”

“Yeah, good. Something else is good. I love something else.”

-

The kettle was whistling on the stove top of Tony’s kitchen as he sat at the table, his feet soaking in a small tub of warm water.

“How are the feet?” Clint asked as he went over to the stove and started pouring out water for some tea. Before returning the kettle to the stove, he reached down and poured a small splash of it into the basin where Tony’s feet were soaking.

“I don’t know, they’ve stopped talking to me.” Tony answered as he wiggled his toes, hoping to get some feeling back.

“What were you even thinking?” Clint shook his head, bringing some tea and cookies to the table for them both.

“That I could still skate.” Tony answered, reaching for a cookie.

“It’s not exactly like riding a bike ya know.” Clint smirked.

“Now you tell me!” Tony shook his head.

“So, what are you up to tonight?” Clint asked before taking a sip of the tea before pulling away sharply, it still too hot.

“Well, I was thinking of a little line dancing, then maybe run a 10K, then if I’m still up for it, I’ll just jump up and down really hard for about an hour.” Tony said sarcastically, still trying to add some feeling back into his toes.

“No Loki? Taking a night off?”

“I don’t see him every night, Clint.” Tony rolled his eyes.

“He seems like a great guy.” Clint tried again.

“He is.” Tony nodded his head, still looking down at his feet in the warm water.

“That didn’t sound very convincing.”

“No, he is. He is a great guy…for someone.” Tony hesitated.

“For someone? Someone else who isn’t you? Even though you’re the person spending all of your time with him.” Clint pointed out. “How long have you been seeing him?”

“Why?” Tony looked up to his friend, entirely suspicious.

“Two months, right? Two months you’ve been seeing him?” Clint continued on.

“What’s your point?”

“Nothing, you’re just right on schedule.” Clint shrugged, going in for another sip of tea.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Tony shook his head.

“This is about the time you start doing your little getaway dance. Two months right on the nose – you’re good I’ll give you that.” Clint explained.

“I do not do a dance.” Tony explained.

“You’re cha-cha-cha-ing right now.” Clint teased.

“I am not cha-cha-cha-ing. I’m being practical. Peter is starting to get attached to Loki and that’s not good.” Tony tried again.

“Oh, Peter’s the one getting attached to him?” 

“Yes,” Tony clenched his jaw slightly, “and since I’ve decided that Loki is probably not the guy for me, I think it’s better that we break it off before he gets hurt.”

“Before Peter gets hurt.” Clint nodded, “Practical, can I say something here?”

“Of course you can.”

“Cha-cha-cha.” Clint teased as he got up, going back to the counter to put his mug into the sink.

“Hey, this is not a pattern okay? I’m not doing what I always do. This isn’t the same.” Tony explained, stirring the spoon in his tea over and over.

“Actually you’re right, usually you don’t get so upset and defensive during the cha-cha talk.” Clint explained as he used the kettle to poor another bit of hot water into the foot basin, “You must really like this guy.”

“When did you become the relationship expert? You haven’t been in a relationship in years.” Tony paused as he realized what he said, looking back to Clint who had just returned the kettle to the stove. “Wow, zero to asshole in 3.2 seconds.”

“It’s alright, your feet hurt.” Clint shrugged, still not turning around, pretending to be busy rinsing out his mug.

“No it isn’t. It’s never okay for me to talk to you like that. I’m so sorry.” Tony tried apologizing.

“I understand, really.” Clint sighed as he went back to sitting at the table, “You know it’s not like I don’t want a relationship. It’s just hard with my hours. I’m always at the inn or at the market.”

“I know, I didn’t mean anything by it. Please forgive me.”

“Forgiven.” Clint held up a cookie in a mock toast, as the two of them clinked them together before taking a bite.

-

Tony was standing in front of the open fridge while cleaning it out, “Four slices of pepperoni pizza.”

“From when?” Peter asked, reading his history notes at the kitchen table.

“Tuesday?” Tony asked, not entirely sure.

“Last Tuesday?”

“A Tuesday in the not too distant past.”

“Toss it.” Peter explained as his dad tossed the old pizza box into the open trash bin. Seeing the book that Tony had borrowed from Loki sitting on the kitchen table, Peter asked, “So how’s ‘Swann’s Way’ coming?”

“Oh, finished.” Tony explained, pulling a take out box out of the back of the fridge before tossing it.

“You’re kidding. It took me forever to read that. I had to renew it 10 times.” Peter explained.

“The first sentence. I finished the first sentence.”

“Aha.” Peter nodded while smiling.

“Yeah it’s just, things are so busy at the inn right now. It’s totally the wrong time to start reading the longest book known to man. Hey, maybe you could give it back to Loki for me?” Tony asked, pulling more odds and ends out of the fridge.

“Just bring it with you tomorrow.” Peter explained.

“Tomorrow?” Tony turned back to face him.

“Parent’s day?” Peter tried again, knowing that his dad had totally forgotten.

“Right, well maybe returning a book with all the other students and their parents isn’t the best idea.” Tony explained before turning back around, hoping to drop the subject.

“Then just give it back to him the next time you see him.” Peter explained, noticing that his dad was getting weird and avoiding the topic.

“Because I’m not sure when that would be and he should have his book back.” Tony explained, turning back to Peter.

“Are you breaking up with him?” Peter asked, confused about why after things seemed to be going so well.

“What are you talking about?”

“Well you haven’t seen each other lately and now you’re asking me to give him the book back.” Peter pointed out.

“How do you know that we haven’t seen each other?” Tony asked, getting a bit more upset, “He shouldn’t be mentioning anything to you while you’re at school.”

“He didn’t say anything.” Peter shook his head, “I kind of live here and would have noticed if you had suddenly gone on a date. Or did you forget that part about me being your son. Why are you breaking up with him?”

“Because it’s not working out.” Tony explained shortly.

“You seemed so happy.” Peter said simply.

“It’s not right. That’s all.”

“That’s why you want me to return the book to him? So you don’t have to see him?” Peter asked, piecing together exactly what was going on. “Look, do whatever you want, just leave me out of it.” Peter picked up his homework, taking it with him to go to his room and finish, “And give him the book back yourself.”

“Fine. I will.” Tony called back to Peter as he heard the door slam shut.

-

“Hey not so fast.” Tony said as he tried keeping up with Peter in the hall.

“The bell’s gonna ring.” Peter exclaimed, “We have to go to my locker to drop some of my stuff off.”

“Wow, you all really do blend together in one mass of plaid, huh.” Tony pointed out as he stood next to Peter’s locker waiting for him, “So what’s first? Wait don’t tell me.”

“English lit with Mr. Loki Laufeyson.”

“Okay see I told you not to tell me.” Tony fidgeted with the book he held in his hand, “How does the first annual father/son ditch day sound?”

“Not happening.” Peter exclaimed.

“Hey Peter, Mr. Stark.” Harry greeted as he walked up to the two of them. 

“You should know to call me Tony by now, Mr. Stark makes me cringe.” Tony smiled as he greeted his son’s boyfriend.

“Still working on it, my mom’s drilled in my manners.” Harry joked.

“Speaking of, your parents didn’t come today?” Peter asked.

“No, my dad’s still on some big business trip, and mom’s out of town.” Harry explained, fighting his instinct to avoid eye contact at the mention of his parents.

Tony didn’t need to hear more to understand the look of a kid who wanted nothing more than their parents to notice them. Smiling, Tony pat Harry on the back, “Well I think I can handle being a father of two. You both have most of the same classes anyways right? I’ll sit in for both of you today.”

Hearing the bell ring, Peter decided to forget the way Harry smiled slightly, but still seemed a bit put off by his own parents not being there. Maybe he’d just have Harry spend more time at their house from now on.

-

“On Monday we’ll be starting a two week exercise in creative writing, but that doesn’t mean that we stop reading. One of the greatest inspirations of working writers is the writing of others that they admire.” Mr. Laufeyson explained as he sat on his desk to a classroom filled with students and their over-judgmental parents. “Walt Whitman read Homer, Dante, Shakespeare. And the novelist Edna O’Brien has been quoted as saying “that every writer should read some Proust every day.” Now at this point, normally I would impress the parents by pulling out a copy of Proust’s ‘Swann’s Way’ and reading a particularly difficult passage but it would seem that you’re all saved. I’ve misplaced my copy.”

At hearing that, Tony put the book he was holding onto the shelf of the bookcase he was standing next to. Hoping that he hadn’t brought to much attention to himself.

As the bell rang Loki explained to the class, “Parent’s thank you for coming. Students, papers on Whitman are due Friday and those of you starting tonight, I’ll be able to tell.”

As all of the parents began to file out of the room, Tony turned to Peter, “Go on ahead, okay?” I’m going to talk to Loki for a sec.”

“Please be nice.” Peter tried. 

“I will, I will.” Tony explained as he shooed Peter out of the room, picking up ‘Swann’s Way’ from where he left it. Once it was empty, he walked up to Loki’s desk. “Hi.”

“Hi.” Loki looked up from his lesson plan, “It’s nice to see you.”

“Yeah, I’ve ugh, been really busy.” Tony tried explaining.

“I assumed.” Loki nodded, forgetting about the papers on his desk.

“I wanted to give this back to you.” Tony placed the book onto the desk, hearing himself babbling a bit, “I really liked it. Well I liked the first 20 pages anyways, then I got busy and I can see you really need it so.”

“What’s going on Tony? You haven’t returned my calls.” Loki looked from the book back up to meet Tony’s eyes.

“Nothing. I just don’t think a book whose first sentence is 20 pages long is for me.” He tried explaining, 

“You’re breaking up with me aren’t you?” Loki asked, seeming to have put together what was going on.

“I don’t know.” Tony answered honestly.

“Not only are you breaking u with me, but you’re doing it rather poorly.” Loki shook his head, exasperated as he went to shut the classroom door so no one would overhear. 

“Am I being graded?” Tony asked, his nervous habit of trying to break tension with bad jokes popping up at the worst of times yet again.

“No, I’m a bit disappointed. I would’ve expected a better dumping from you.” Loki explained as he walked over in front of Tony to sit in one of the student’s desks.

“Nobody’s dumping anyone. I just. I need space.” Tony explained, though he wasn’t exactly sure what he wanted.

“Well I don’t.” Loki explained matter-of-factly. “In fact I want as little space as possible. 100 clowns crammed into a Volkswagen. That’s how little space I mean.”

“It’s not working.” Tony tried as he went to sit in the seat next to Loki.

“It was working pretty well the other night.” Loki commented.

“Look it’s what I’ve been trying to tell you all along.” Tony tried explaining again, “This is a family. Peter and I, you walked into a family, but you weren’t listening and now he’s getting attached and I’m afraid that he’s gonna get hurt.”

“And your solution to this was not to return my calls.”

“It just took me a while to figure things out and it all came clearer when I realized how much we could hurt Peter.”

“Don’t you mean how much we could hurt Tony?”

“Hey, I can take care of myself.” Tony shook his head, watching as Loki stood back up, seemingly restless.

“I thought we went through this. We had decided that he could handle it.” Loki explained, leaning against his disk.

“Well maybe he can and maybe he can’t. I’m not ready to find out.” 

“I’m not going to let you off that easily.” 

“There’s not exactly anything you can do about it.” Tony announced, shocked at Loki’s tone.

“There has to be.” Loki shook his head.

“There isn’t.” Tony tried again.

“There is.” Loki nodded.

“No there really isn’t.” Tony tapped his knuckled against the top of the student’s desk as he got more antsy and they continued going back and forth.

“Yes there is.” Loki pushed again as the other got more frustrated.

“What are we in high school?” Tony asked as Loki held his arms out, gesturing to the class room they were currently in. “Well I know we are currently in a high school, but-“

“This isn’t like you.” Loki cut him off simply.

“You don’t know everything about me.” Tony explained as he stood up, grabbing the novel off of Loki’s desk.

“I suppose not, because I would’ve thought that blaming this all on Peter and giving me these excuses was weak, pathetic and beneath you.” Loki stated, obviously hurt.

“Just take your damn book.” Tony said again as he handed it back.

“You’ve missed me.” Loki stated, knowing that he hit it right on the head as he saw the look on Tony’s face, the other’s eyes blown wide. “I know you did, you miss me right now, don’t you?”

Tony sighed, turning away from Loki, “Stop it.”

“I’m right, aren’t I? Answer me.” Loki tried grabbing Tony’s hand to get him to face him again.

“Look, class is over.” Tony tried as he went to walk towards the door.

“Well we’re back in session.” Loki said as he stood in front of Tony.

“Well I didn’t raise my hand so don’t call on me. I came here to give you this book back, please just take it.” Tony tried one more time, his voice cracking slightly.

“I swear if you try to give me that book back one more time.” Loki paused, the both of them not knowing what else to say as they stood in front of one another. Before Tony realized what he was doing, he was leaning in to kiss Loki, the copy of ‘Swann’s Way’ clutched in his hands between them.

-

Standing in the hallway by his locker, Peter was talking with Harry as the students all seemed to be getting worked up, whispering to one another. Putting his books into his locker, Peter decided not the pay it any attention until one student, an upperclassmen he barely recognized made a kissy face at him teasingly.

“What the hell is going on?” Peter asked Harry quietly, noticing a couple of people staring at them.

Harry stopped a girl named Kamala that they knew from Chemistry class, “Kamala, what’s going on? What’s everyone talking about?”

“Oh, well um.” She hesitated, her eyes flickering to Peter for a second before answering, “Someone saw Mr. Laufeyson kissing one of the dads that had come in for parent’s day.”

“What?” Peter asked, dropping his book back into his locker.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Tony asked as he approached the group, not paying any attention to the girl that slipped away from Harry as he walked over.

Slamming his locker door shut, Peter walked away.

“Hey, Peter!” Tony followed Peter into the empty stairwell, finally grabbing his arm, “Hey, where are you going?”

“Were you kissing him?” Peter asked, trying to keep his voice below a shout so that no one would come and listen in.

“What?” Tony asked stunned.

“Mr. Laufeyson. Just now. Were you kissing him?” Peter asked.

“Yes.” He answered truthfully.

“What the hell is wrong with you? You said you were breaking up with him.” Peter replied angrily, “I know I told you to be nice, but this was a little extreme don’t ya think?”

“It wasn’t supposed to happen.” Tony tried explaining.

“Someone saw you. It’s all over the school!”

“Oh, god.” Tony said, barely above a whisper. “Peter I am so sorry, I really am. See this is exactly why I didn’t want to date him.”

“You didn’t want to date him so you wouldn’t come to my school and kiss him and humiliate me?” Peter asked.

“Yes, that’s exactly why!”

“If you like him so much then why are you breaking up with him?” 

“Look, I broke the rules when I brought him into our lives and I realize now that that was a very bad idea.” Tony tried explaining, but could already see on Peter’s face that he wasn’t buying it.

“But why?”

“Why?” Tony asked, exasperated. “Because we are standing in this stairwell yelling at each other that’s why! Because it’s affecting you, it’s seeping into your life and that is the whole reason I made these rules in the first please. Is to protect you.”

“You know what, maybe it was a good idea that you hid your personal life from me when I was a kid but I’m not a kid anymore.” Peter tried explaining, getting more and more frustrated with his dad.

“No you’re absolutely right, you’re a 40 year old divorcee, my mistake.” Tony sighed as Peter turned and tried heading up the stairs to get away from his dad.

“I can’t believe you’re blaming this on me.” Peter was practically shouting as he climbed the stairs, only stopping when his dad grabbed onto his arm.

“I’m not blaming you!”

“You made up these stupid rules years ago about how we would run our lives and now you’re sticking to them even though they’re crazy.”

“Hey, my crazy, stupid rules are the reason we’re doing so good in our lives. They’re the reason you grew up the way you did, the reason you’re even in this school and the reason you’re going to go to MIT so don’t you dismiss my rules.” Tony explained, shouting back and forth with Peter.

“Fine! Great!” Peter turned heading back up the stairs, “Well, maybe it’s time for the rules to change!”

“Well that’s for me to figure out, not you!”

“Well could you figure it out before French class because I’d rather you didn’t start making out with Mrs. Collins!” Peter opened the door to the second floor, it slamming loudly on the wall behind it.

“Hey, no promises until I see what she looks like!”

-

“Can we please just refrain from fighting in front of your grandmother?” Tony asked as they stood in front of Stark Manor before their weekly dinner. “That last thing I need is a confrontation with my mother.”

“Fine with me.” Peter agreed as he rang the doorbell, not wanting to talk about anything that had happened.

“Hi mom,” Tony greeted, immediately seeing the stern look on his mother’s face.

“Peter, go upstairs please.” Maria asked, her glare fixed firmly on her son.

“Is everything okay?” Peter asked, as he hung his coat on the rack by the door.

“I have to talk to your father, please go upstairs.” Maria asked again before Peter listened and went up to sit around in his dad’s old room.

As soon as Peter was out of sight, Maria walked into the living room, calling after Tony when he didn’t follow. “Anthony, come here!”

“Gee mom, did I do something wrong?” Tony asked as he took off his coat.

“I try to understand you, I truly do. But sometimes your behavior baffles me beyond belief.” She explained as she fixed herself a drink at the small bar cart.

“And which behavior is that?” Tony asked, unsure of what he did to make her mad this time.

“Do you have no shame?” Maria asked, “Peter goes to school in that place, he has a reputation to protect. You’re his father.”

“How did you-“ Tony couldn’t even finish asking before he was cut off.

“You’re supposed to shield him from shame not cause it,” Maria shook her head, “Kissing a teacher. In a classroom! On parent’s day of all days!”

“Well they wanted us to get more involved with the school.” Tony supplied, feeling smaller by the second.

“Are you insane?!” Maria asked as she took a seat, her drink in hand.

“No, but you are if you think I’m discussing this with you.” Tony tried to put an end to it, even though he knew it wasn’t going to be. “How did you even hear about this?”

“When I heard I almost fainted.” She took a sip of her drink before continuing, “I have friends Anthony, the Headmistress’s mother for one. And what do I say, how do I defend this?”

“It was a mistake.” Tony tried, pacing the room.

“A mistake?” Maria asked, “Is that what you call it, a mistake? A mistake is when you throw out your credit card bill. A mistake is when you miss trash day and the bins are full for a week. This, was not a mistake. Do you even know this man?”

“Well no, this is the first time I’d seen him and I don’t know, there was just something about the way he held the chalk and-“ Tony joked before he was cut off again.

“This isn’t a time for your jokes, Anthony.”

“Yes I knew him. I’ve been dating him.” Tony finally answered.

“Why on earth would you date Peter’s teacher?” 

“That is none of your business mom.”

“It most certainly is my business.” Maria explained, putting her drink onto the end table, “When it affects my grandson it becomes my business.”

“I don’t want to talk about this with you!” Tony could feel his voice wavering as he sat down on the couch. Holding his head in his hands he felt a lump forming in his throat.

“I just want to know what you were thinking. What was the reasoning? How on Earth did you justify it to yourself?” Maria asked, not being able to understand her son in the slightest.

“Loki is a great guy.” Tony explained, trying to put the words together, having to force himself to make eye contact with his mom, “He’s smart, he’s sweet, he’s funny, he cares about Peter.”

“So you decided to kiss him in your son’s school.” Maria pointed out.

“I decided to break up with him in my son’s school and the kissing part just happened.” Tony explained.

“You always let your emotions get in the way. That’s the problem with you Anthony. You don’t think.” Maria chastised, “He is just a man.”

“No, he’s not.” Tony shook his head.

“So what are you telling me? That this was all worth it because he was the love of your life? That this was the man for you?”

“I don’t know! Maybe he was!” Tony stood up, “Excuse me.” Getting up from his seat, Tony escaped into the bathroom to calm himself down. Hearing Maria head up the stairs to retrieve Peter, he figured that this was the end of it. At least for now.

-

In the kitchen of the Independence Inn, Clint was cleaning up at the end of the night and setting up for tomorrows breakfast when Bruce walked in, dropping a box onto the counter next to Clint.

“There, squash blossoms. All large enough for you to stuff and fry up and serve to the desensitized masses who just want what they know.” Bruce explained, picking up one of the blossoms out of the box.

“Bruce?” Clint tried stopping him.

“You know what, I’m not even gonna charge you for these. I’m not going to profit off the death of creativity.” Bruce exaggerated as he turned to leave.

“Bruce?” Clint called him one more time.

“What?” Bruce turned around, expecting a fight, or to hear that the squash blossoms weren’t big enough.

“Would you like to go to dinner with me sometime?” Clint finally asked.

“O-Okay.” Bruce answered, taken aback a little bit, at the question.

“Okay.” Clint replied back happily as Bruce went to leave.

-

Walking into the coffee shop where he and Loki had first met up on their ‘pre-date’ Tony saw the other sitting at the counter. Walking up to the counter and sitting down next to him, Tony asked, “Hey Mister, wanna buy a really nice copy of Proust?”

Smiling fondly, Loki asked, “Depends if you come with it.”

Taking his coat off, Tony said, “So that parent’s day, huh?”

“Oh it was a big hit this year.”

With a deep breath, Tony started to explain, “Look, the other day, Peter and I were going skating, and he said “Why don’t we invite Loki to come along with us” and that was a little weird for me.”

“Me too. I don’t skate.” Loki teased.

“Apparently neither do I.” Tony smiled, “But the thing is, he’s never referred to anyone I’ve dated by their first name before. I always kept him out of that part of my life, so it was always “the mustache guy” or “the peg leg guy” you know?”

“So you have a thing for pirates.”

“He’s never called anyone by their name before. He likes you. He likes us. So my mind immediately went to “Oh my god, what if we break up, he’ll be crush.” And my next thought was “Oh my god, what if we break up, I’ll be crushed.” And then all hell broke loose.”

“I understand.” Loki nodded, taking a sip of his coffee as Tony continued.

“I freaked out. I’m so sorry. I never meant to treat you like that. I’m not very good at this, ask Skippy.” Tony sighed as he tried explaining.

“Skippy?” Loki asked, entirely confused about what that meant or who Skippy was.

“I’m sorry.”

“I was called into the headmaster’s office today.” Loki explained, “She said I was jeopardizing my career and my future at Chilton.”

“Oh.” Tony let out a deep breath, worried that the next words would be that Loki was fired.

“At first I was incensed, outraged, and “How dare she?” And then I realized that she was right. What happened the other day was completely unprofessional. I never in my life would’ve considered pulling off something like this. She should’ve fired me.” Loki explained.

“But she didn’t, right?” Tony asked, already planning on going into the headmistress’s office himself.

“Not yet, but the word ‘probation’ was tossed around quite a bit.” 

“I’m sorry.” Tony shook his head.

“I’m the one that started the kiss.” Loki shook his head as he explained.

“And I’m the one that knocked it up to NC-17.” Tony teased.

“I didn’t think this was going to be so complicated.” Loki added, “You told me it would be. And I didn’t listen. I didn’t want to.”

“It’s not your fault. If I hadn’t been so childish and tried to run away and pretend that you aren’t what you are to me, then we wouldn’t have fought, we wouldn’t have kissed. I wouldn’t have humiliated my son and the whole thing would’ve been fine.” Tony answered.

“I have to admit, I don’t know what to do. I’ve never been in a relationship like this before. I’m not thinking straight.” Loki answered sincerely.

“Well unless you’re not telling me something, nothing about this relationship is straight.” Tony teased again.

“Maybe we need to take a little time away from each other.” Loki replied, his tone serious. “Just to figure out how to do this so it’s not so hard.”

“Okay.” Nodding along, Tony agreed. And no matter how much the twisting feeling in his gut told him to hold on and never let go. He knew that he had to listen.

“I just don’t have any other answers right now.”

“You’re right. You’re absolutely right.” Tony nodded, feeling his throat getting tight again. “I really like you Loki Laufeyson.”

“I really like you Tony Stark.” Loki repeated back to him, a sweet smile on his lips. “Goodbye Tony.” 

Tony bit his tongue as Loki stood up, keeping himself from saying a word, knowing that if he did, he’d ask him to stay. Hearing the door chime behind him as Loki walked out, Tony pulled the half empty cup of coffee that Loki had left to sit in front of him. Letting his fingers play with the saucer it was sitting on, Tony lost track of how long he’d been sitting there before he finally stood up and left the coffee shop. The copy of ‘Swann’s Way’ tucked under his arm as he got in his car to drive home.


	11. Apple Tarts and Holiday Starks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After everything that's happened with Loki, Tony and his mother aren't on good terms. And with the family's Christmas Dinner coming up, Tony isn't invited to spend the holidays with them. When Howard collapses at dinner, everyone is thrown for a loop as they sit around the hospital waiting to see if he'll be okay.

“Hey, I thought we were meeting at the diner!” Wanda asked as she ran up to where Peter was sitting in the gazebo.

“We were?” He asked, “Oh my god, we were, I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright, better off. This way my dad won’t be able to smell the french fries on me.” Wanda joked as she sat down next to him, “Your dad still pretty beaten up, huh?”

“Yeah, I wish there was something I could do to make him feel better.” Peter sighed, “And he and my grandma were just starting to get close again, now they’re not even talking. My dad hasn’t been to Friday night dinner in 3 weeks. Ugh, I really need to talk about something else now.”

“Christmas shopping?” Wanda pointed to the shopping bags next to Peter’s feet.

“Yeah, I got a cow-shaped kitchen timer that moos for Clint. An herb drying rack for Bruce. And a fully staffed FBI van for Natasha.” Peter joked.

“Don’t even tease about that, it’s like she already has us all bugged.” Wanda smiled before asking, “Nothing for Harry?”

“I’ve been looking, but I couldn’t find anything that’d be right.”

Shaking her head, Wanda stood up, “Boys, totally helpless. Come on, we’ll find something.”

-

A little while later, Wanda and Peter had wandered into the market to pick up some drinks before continuing on with their shopping. “You really weren’t kidding when you said nothing would be right.”

“I told you,” Peter groaned, “It’s impossible to shop for rich people.” 

“We’ll find something. Stars Hollow only has maybe 4 stores,” Wanda pointed out, ever the optimist, “We’ll go to the mall this weekend and see if we can find something there.”

“Is there anything you want me to get you for Chanukah?” Peter asked as the pair walked towards the soda fridge.

“Unless you can afford a studio apartment in Soho, I don’t think so.” Wanda teased, pulling a coke out for her and Peter’s usual Dr. Pepper. Seeing Mary-Jane sneak a glance at them from the register, Wanda warned, “Heads up, your red-headed stalker is looking this way.”

Confused, Peter furrowed his brow as he turned to see MJ helping out an old lady at the register. “Oh man, I haven’t spoken to her since my birthday. She probably thinks I’ve been avoiding her.”

“Poor thing, she just doesn’t know that you and your dad would burn down your house if you so much as looked at an oven.” Wanda teased as she grabbed the drinks, heading for the cash registers, “Good luck.” She smiled as she saw MJ coming over to talk.

“Hi Peter.” She greeted happily, “Haven’t seen you around lately.”

“Yeah, my dad and I don’t normally go grocery shopping. We’re more take-out and left overs.” Peter joked, wishing he could keep himself from babbling for even just one conversation. “And you know, I’m at a new school and all so I’ve been busy.”

“Well, maybe if you’re not too busy sometime we could catch a movie?” MJ offered.

Peter had to hold himself back from flinching slightly. He’d never been asked to go on a date with a girl before, but now he was with Harry. “Oh well, ya see I’d love to but I can’t.“

“It’s someone else, right?” MJ asked, her shoulders slightly slumped.

“Yeah, I’m kind of seeing someone from school.” Peter explained, immediately feeling terrible.

“Well, whoever they are, they’re lucky.” MJ smiled, but Peter could tell that he’d upset her. “I’ll talk to you later, Peter. Gotta get back to work.”

As MJ walked back to the register, Peter met Wanda outside of the market, explaining to her what happened. For the rest of the day, he couldn’t help but to feel guilty at having to turn her down, and that she had apparently had high hopes despite him not being around for so long.

-

Standing at the front desk of the inn, Tony was going over some paperwork while Phil was making sure that the staff were appropriately decorating the lobby with festive holiday decorations. When the phone started ringing, Tony picked it up on instinct, “Independence Inn, Tony speaking.”

“Anthony.” Maria’s voice came in from the other end.

“Mom, hello.” Tony put down his pen, knowing that he wont want to mess up any of his paperwork because he’s too busy being frustrated with his mother.

“I wanted to talk to you about the Christmas dinner this Friday.” Maria explained.

“Ah, Christmas dinner.” Tony repeated.

“You forgot.”

“Well mom, there’s been a lot going on here lately. Your Christmas shindig’s not exactly high on my list of things to obsess about.”

“Well I’m sorry if the timing is bad, but the world doesn’t always revolve around you.” Maria noted sarcastically as she watched the maid adding finishing touches on the Christmas tree in the living room.

“Thanks for the tip.”

“Cocktails are at 6, dinner’s at 8.” 

“I probably won’t be there for cocktails.” Tony explained, pulling out a binder from under the table that he would need.

“Why not?”

“Because I have to work?” Tony asked, as though it were obvious.

“You can’t leave work early?” Maria asked, thoroughly frustrated with how her son has been acting.

“Not really, no. It wouldn’t be in the job description.”

“Well then don’t come.” She finally stated.

“What?” Tony asked, unsure if he heard her right. Trying to keep his voice level and calm as his staff bustled around him at the front desk.

“Don’t come. It’s obviously an enormous burden for you. Just send Peter.”

“You’re telling me not to come to the Christmas party?” Tony asked again. “I had the German measles in 5th grade and I still had to show up to the Christmas Party.”

“Anthony, let’s be honest here. I’m not too happy with you right now and I assume you’re not too happy with me. I am tired of forcing you to do all of those terrible things that infringe upon your life and I do not have the energy to pretend that the way you acted was in any way acceptable.”

“Fine. Is that all?” Tony asked, wanting to slam the phone down onto the receiver as fast as possible.

“Make sure Peter’s on time.”

“Great mom, it’s been swell talking to you.” Tony hung up before he could hear his mother say goodbye, dropping the phone onto the front desk.

-

“I wish you’d change your mind.” Peter exclaimed from the kitchen where he was putting the bow onto the gift he and his dad had gotten for his grandparents.

“It’s not my mind that needs to be changed.” Tony answered back from his spot on the couch.

“I don’t think she meant it.” 

“Oh she meant it.” Tony nodded as he flipped through channels.

“Well maybe she meant it at the time, but I bet she won’t mean it later when I show up there without you.” Peter added.

“And without a map to follow that reasoning I say, ‘Take a hat, it’s cold outside.”

“You just wanna hold a grudge huh.” Peter asked as he went to the hall closet, pulling out his good coat to wear.

“Yeah, it burns more calories. How do you think your grandma got those legs of hers. She’s not exactly a Stairmaster gal.”

“Dad.”

“And I don’t remember the country club ever organizing a Tae-bo class.” His dad jokingly added on.

“Fine, forget it. Should I put your name on grandma’s present?” Peter asked as he grabbed a pen.

“Yes, sign it ‘the inn keeper formally known as your son.” 

“You know what I think?” Peter asked as he brought the present over with him into the living room. “I think you’re acting a little immature.”

“I’m not acting.”

“Well what about the apple tarts? You wait all year for those apple tarts.” Peter pointed out.

“I can live without the apple tarts.”

“You’ve made up songs after eating five of them with lyrics that contradict that last statement.”

“Oh you know what? You have to go or you’ll be late.” Tony smiled up at his son.

“Fine, I’m going.”

“Drive carefully. Watch out for ice! And bring me back one of those-“ Tony tries shouting before the door slammed shut, “…tarts.”

-

“Hi grandma.” Peter greeted happily as Maria opened the front door for him.

“Oh come in Peter you look wonderful.” Maria smiled, shutting the door softly behind him.

“This is from me and dad.” Peter handed her the beautifully wrapped present.

“Oh well aren’t you thoughtful.” Taking the present, Maria let Peter hang his coat before leading him into the living room and setting the present down under the tree. “Now Peter you remember James and Eliza Stone, and their son Tiberius from last year.”

Peter remembered the family, but mostly from what his dad has told him about Tiberius from when the two were in high school. They had apparently had something of a rivalry. “Nice to see you all again.” Peter happily greeted.

“Peter, how wonderful to see you.” Eliza greeted happily.

“Oh, Peter, there you are, we were just discussing the new research team that was being established in Madripoor.” Howard explained.

“Where’s your father?” Tiberius asked from where he was seated on the couch, “Already found the apple tarts?”

“Anthony won’t be joining us tonight.” Maria answered as she went to fix Peter a drink.

“He won’t?” Howard asked, surprised. His son hadn’t missed a Christmas dinner before.

“No, unfortunately he had to work tonight.”

“What a shame. How is your father doing Peter?” Ty asked.

“Oh let’s not spend all night talking about Anthony, Peter just started Chilton this year.” Maria explained, shifting the subject away from her son.

“Yes, your grandmother was telling us all about how exciting it was when you started. Are you enjoying it?” Eliza asked politely.

Peter sat with them and began talking back and forth, still feeling a bit out of place without his dad here.

-

Walking into the diner, Tony took a spot at the counter, seeing that there were no empty tables. Before he could even get a word out, Steve was pouring him a cup of coffee.

“No Peter tonight?” Steve asked.

“No, he’s at my parents for Christmas dinner.” Tony explained, taking a sip of coffee so he could warm up from his cold walk over.

“And you didn’t go with?” Steve’s interest peaked, “You’ve come in for days on end after that party singing about apple tarts.”

“It’s…a long story. I’d rather not get into it.”

“Everything okay? You’re usually a lot more quippy than this.” 

“Turn on a soap opera and you’ll get the gist of it.” Tony supplied adding a packet of sugar to the coffee.

“Extra cheese on the burger then?” Steve teased.

“More cheese than burger if you can make that possible.” Tony smiled, happy that at least Steve wasn’t being too harsh on his bad diet choices today.

-

“Maria, you’ve outdone yourself again.” Eliza complimented as everyone enjoyed the dinner.

“Yes, I can’t imagine the hours you’ve spent slaving over a hot stove.” James joked.

“You’re teasing me, James.” Maria smiled.

“Everything’s wonderful.” He added sincerely.

“Is it unbearably hot in here?” Howard asked, loosening his tie a bit as he tried to get himself some air.

“Don’t loosen your tie at the table, Howard.” Maria chastised.

“So, what are you plans for the holidays, Peter?” Tiberius asked.

“I’m going to lower the thermostat.” Howard announced as he stood from the table, still fussing with his tie.

“Oh, mostly school work and hanging out with my dad.” Peter answered.

“Such a shame he couldn’t come, he’s always such a kick.” Eliza added sweetly.

“Do tell him happy holidays for us will you?” James added.

“I will.” Peter smiled politely, happy that his dad was so well liked.

“Howard! Oh for heaven’s sake.” Maria stood up as she went to go search for her husband.

-

Still sitting at the diner counter, Tony was looking out the window and watching the snow gently fall when Steve slid a burger in front of him. Piled high with cheese and even extra pickles on the side for him. “Awe, even the extra pickles.”

“Yeah well you usually eat Peter’s anyways so.” Steve explained.

“Yeah I have no idea where that kid gets his terrible appetite from.” Tony teased, popping a french fry into his mouth.

“Beats me. After all, your diet is so refined.” 

As Tony’s phone rang, Steve pointed to the sign on the wall behind him that read “no cellphones.” 

“Oh come on, it’s sub zero out there.” Tony groaned.

“It disturbs the other customers.” Steve said simply.

Having missed the call while arguing with Steve, Tony went to listen to his voicemail when Maria Hill and a group of carolers walked in singing.

“Whoa what’s going on here.” Steve asked as he came from around the back of the counter.

“Well we were out caroling and it’s getting a bit cold so we thought we’d trade you a song for some hot chocolate.” Hill explained.

“So you want free hot chocolate.” Steve summarized.

“No, we’ll sing for you, any tune you like.”

“So you want to sing, disrupting my customers, and then you want free hot chocolate.” Steve said again.

“Well…yes.” Ms. Hill answered.

“Tell you what, you can stay quiet and pay for your hot chocolate, then go next door and sing for your marshmallows.” Steve smiled.

“Oh come on Steve, these are members of your community.” She started saying when Tony cut her off.

“Oh my god.” He put his phone away immediately grabbing his jacket.

“Hang on,” Steve held up a hand to Ms. Hill, “What’s going on?”

“My father is in the hospital.” Tony shook his head as he went to put on his jacket, “He collapsed or something at dinner, but he’s in the hospital and I have to call a cab.”

“I’ll drive you.” Steve said.

“But you have people and food.” Tony looked around at all of the people in the restaurant.

“Bucky, take care of it!” Steve yelled as he went to grab his jacket and keys.

“On it!” Bucky got up from his table with Sam, heading into the back to wash his hands.

“Come on Tony, my truck’s out back.” Steve threw the keys to the diner to Sam before he lead Tony through the back door and towards his pickup truck.

-

Tony was sitting in the passenger seat of Steve’s pickup, listening to the voicemail that Peter had left for the fifth time.

“It’s not changing.” Steve tried, “There isn’t going to suddenly be another half of a message.”

“I know I’m just…what if he’s dead.” Tony asked.

“He’s not dead.” 

“How do you know?” Tony asked again, his head reeling.

“I know.”

“God, I feel like I should be remembering all of the good times I had with my dad. The time he bought me a hot wheels, or took me fishing, or we went to the circus. But my mind is going completely blank.” Tony shook his head, his cellphone still clutched in his hand as he waited for Peter to call again.

“Well I’m sure it happened. Even if you can’t remember it right now.” Steve added, hoping he was at least a bit of a comfort.

“No, none of that ever happened. We never did anything together. He went to work, he came home, he read the paper, he went to bed, I snuck out the window. Simple. He’s a very by the numbers guy.” Tony explained.

“I’m sure he loves you.” Steve answered.

“My dad isn’t a bad guy.”

“I’m sure he’s not.” Steve smiled to Tony, still keeping his eyes on the road, carefully watching for ice.

“He lived his life the way he thought he was supposed to. He worked hard and bought a nice house. He provided for my mom. And all he asked in return was for his son to want the same life that he had. What a disappointment it must have been for him to get me.” Tony shook his head, staring out the windshield at the snowy road.

“I can’t imagine anyone seeing you as a disappointment, Tony.”

-

“But why can’t I see him?” Maria asked the nurse behind the counter.

“The doctor is running some tests.” The nurse calmly explains, unfortunately used to distraught family members.

“Well I would like to meet this doctor who’s testing him.” Maria pushed on, “Some strange man is working on my husband, I have a right to meet this person.”

“You will, miss.” The nurse came from around the back of the counter. “Ma’am, please wait here. Your husband will be out shortly.” She explained before going through a set of double doors and disappearing out of view.

“Did you find out anything?” Peter asked, walking up to his grandma waiting at the nurse’s station.

“Heaven forbid. They run this place like the CIA. This place is infuriating.” Maria answered.

“Maybe I should call dad again.” Peter tried.

“Oh no I’m sure he’s very busy.” Maria reached into her purse, taking some money out for Peter, “Here, dear. Go get your grandfather a paper. He’ll want something to read when he gets back to his room.”

Taking the money in hand, Peter nodded, “Okay, can I get you anything? Maybe a coffee?”

“No thank you dear, I’m fine.” Maria smiled, patting Peter on the back gently as he went to find a newspaper for his grandpa.

While waiting for Peter, Maria took out her cell phone and called Tony’s house phone, before it quickly went to voicemail. Hanging up without leaving a message, Maria pinched the bridge of her nose, unsure if she should be more worried or agitated.

-

Tony and Steve came up the hallway, seeing Maria trying to get information from the nurse again, “And where exactly did this doctor study?”

“Miss, I’m sure the doctor will be happy to discuss that with you himself when you see him.” The nurse answered, looking entirely fed up with Maria after dealing with the woman for so long.

“Mom!” Tony called out.

“Anthony!” Maria turned, almost shocked to see him there at all.

“What’s going on? How is he?” Tony asked.

“You came.” Maria repeated.

“Of course I came. How’s dad?” 

“That’s what I’ve been trying to find out but this woman won’t tell me a single thing.” Maria asked, gesturing to the nurse behind the counter.

“I need her to fill out these forms on her insurance policy before I’m allowed to give any details.” The nurse explained, placing a clipboard onto the counter. The form itself was simple, just asking for insurance information, and the family’s doctor, history of medications, and so on.

“Well, what if I fill out this information and you can go find someone who can tell us how my dad is?” Tony explained.

“I’m not supposed to-“ The girl started before Tony cut her off again.

“Or, I can go look and you can stay here and continue to discuss this with my mother.” Tony smiled sweetly.

The nurse looked back to Maria before getting up from her seat, “I’ll go.”

“Thank you.” Tony added.

“Incredible, you got rid of her.” Maria said, as the nurse went back through the double doors.

“Yes now tell me what happened.” Tony tried.

“I don’t know what happened. He was hot and he went to turn down the thermostat and then…” Maria paused when she noticed Steve. “Were you on a date?”

“What?” Tony asked confused.

“You have an escort.” Maria pointed out, referring to Steve.

“No, it’s Steve, mom.”

“That’s his way of saying we weren’t on a date.” Steve smiled as he replied sarcastically, ignoring the subtle twinge he felt at that comment.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.” Tony apologized, placing his hand on Steve’s arm, hoping the other understood.

“Well how am I supposed to know you weren’t on a date. It’s Friday night and you show up here with a man.” Maria continued, “It’s not insane to assume a date was involved.”

“You’re right, okay, it’s entirely possible that I was out on a date.” Tony rolled his eyes, “I was eating at Steve’s when I got the message. He gave me a ride. Is dad’s doctor here?” Tony tried getting them back on track.

Steve sat down on the seats across from the nurse’s station, immediately seeing the resemblance between Tony and his mother as they continued their back and forth.

“Yes, he got here a while ago. He was supposed to come back the minute he knew something but he hasn’t been back yet.” Maria explained. 

“Well then let’s go find him.” Tony motioned towards the doors, “Steve would you mind telling Peter where we went?”

“Of course.” Steve nodded, as Tony and his mother left.

-

Steve had been reading his texts from Natasha and Sam giving him the play by play of Bucky running the dinner, when he heard Peter’s voice, “Steve?”

“Hey, I ugh, gave your dad a ride.” Steve explained himself as he put his phone down, “He and your grandmother just went back to see if they could find the doctor.”

“Did they find out anything else about grandpa?” Peter asked, taking the seat next to Steve, two newspapers in hand.

“I don’t think so, but give your dad a couple of minutes back there, I bet he’ll find something out.” Steve said with a slight smile, hoping that the words were at least a small comfort.

“Thanks for bringing him.” Peter slumped in his chair a bit, letting the newspapers sit on his lap.

“No problem. Hey, you okay?” Steve asked, seeing the slight fidget with Peter’s hands and his leg nervously bouncing.

“I don’t want him to die.” He answered solemnly.

“Well you tell him that when you see him okay?” Steve nodded, knowing that there wouldn’t be much that he could say right now to make Peter feel better, “People like to hear that they’re wanted around.”

Peter nodded, before his attention was immediately drawn to the double doors at the end of the hall opening and his dad walking through. “Dad!” Peter stood up from his chair, putting the newspaper down in his place.

“Hey you,” Tony smiled softly, walking over to Peter to give him a hug. “You okay?”

“It was horrible. It all happened so fast.”

“Everything’s going to be fine, he’s about to come out of the testing room any minute so just hang in there.” Tony comforted.

“Where’s grandma?” Peter looked behind his dad towards the doors, hoping to see his grandma walking through any second.

“Kicking some patient out of the room with the good view.” Tony smiled, exasperated by how ridiculous his mother could be sometimes.

“You’re kidding.”

Shaking his head Tony added, “I hope they get him unhooked fast otherwise he’s going without the life support machine.”

“So how long before they bring him back?” Peter asked, looking back towards the doors again.

“Very soon, I promise.”

“I wish there was something I could.”

“Like.. rollerblade?” Tony teased, hoping to lighten Peter’s mood.

“Like get some coffee or make phone calls or do something that isn’t just standing around here waiting.” Peter explained, feeling restless.

“Okay, got it. Well as partial as I am to the phone, I vote for the get coffee idea.” 

“Okay good!” Peter perked up, now having something to do. Turning to Steve he offered, “Tea?”

“Sure, that’d be great.” Steve smiled with a small nod.

“I’ll be right back.” Peter smiled.

Tony stopped Peter from leaving with a quick hand on his shoulder, “He’s gonna be fine, okay?”

“I was just getting to know him. I don’t want him to-“

“He’s not. Everything’s going to be okay.” Tony nodded, running a hand through Peter’s hair and messing it up a bit. “Now go get your coffee.” Peter nodded, turning to head down the hallway to look for somewhere he could get hot coffee and some tea.

Tony picked up the newspaper from the chair next to Steve, plopping down into the seat with a heavy sigh. “Oh, man.”

“You’re very brave for him.” Steve smiled to Tony, “You’re a good dad.”

“Yeah, it’s the being a son part I don’t have down just yet.” Tony nodded, running his hands over the newspaper in his lap. Before Steve could cut in, Maria came through the double doors.

“Alright, I’ve got him the room but the pillows are completely unacceptable. I’m going to see if I can find him some down ones and some slippers. I’ll be right back.” Maria explained before heading off.

Tony shook his head, “Alright, we’ll be here.”

As a patient was being wheeled by on a gurney, Steve took a deep breath, looking up at the ceiling.

“Jeez, are you okay?” Tony asked at seeing Steve pale.

“Yeah, just not big on hospitals. Spent a lot of time in them as a kid and they weird me out.” Steve explained, pointedly not looking at the teenager in a wheelchair going past them.

“Listen, why don’t you go home? You don’t look so good.” Tony asked. He didn’t want Steve to feel obligated to stay, especially if Bucky and Sam were left in charge of the diner.

“Thanks.” Steve said in a deadpan tone.

“That’s not what I meant. You know you always look good.” Tony rolled his eyes.

“Yeah?” Steve asked, an immediate smirk on his lips.

“I mean you always look healthy.” Tony explained after realizing what he had said. “Nut you don’t look so healthy now. Now you look…” He trailed off, realizing that he had been babbling.

“Unhealthy.” Steve nodded, the smirk on his face more evident.

“Oh what? So I said you look good. We’re not in 5th grade.” Tony looked away, feeling Steve’s eyes on him. “You look good’, big deal. Stop staring at me.” 

A patient passed by, a bandage wrapped around a serious looking head wound, “Ah jeez.” Steve said, taking another deep breath.

“See, that’s what you get for being cocky.” Tony teased happily with an accusatory finger pointed at Steve. The smile slipped from Tony’s face when he saw his father being wheeled by on a gurney. Standing up and following, Tony right away asked the nurse, “How is he?”

“He’s a little groggy right now.” The male nurse explained.

“What’s going on? How are the tests?” Tony asked again, hoping to get some kind of comfort.

“The doctor will have to tell you that, I’m just the transport guy.” He explained further.

“When is the doctor coming out?” Tony continued.

“I’m not sure but you can go in with your dad until he gets here.” The nurse explained before wheeling Howard into the room where he could rest.

“Thanks.” Tony stopped short of the door, not walking in just yet.

“Go ahead, I’ll wait out here.” Steve explained, seeing Tony’s hesitation.

“That’s okay, ugh, I’m gonna go find my mom and Peter and tell them he’s back.” Tony explained, walking away from the door.

“I can tell them when they get here.” Steve tried again.

“That’s okay, I think they’d like to know now.” Tony explained before turning to go down the hallway, nearly smacking into his mother as he did.

“Tony, you almost ran me over.” Maria smoothed down her dress as she collected herself.

“Good thing we’re in a hospital then.” Tony smiled before continuing on at seeing his mother roll her eyes, “I was just coming to find you, they brought dad up.” Tony motioned towards the room that Howard had gone in to.

“When?” Maria asked urgently.

“Just now.”

“Well how is he? Did you talk to him?” She insisted.

“Not yet, I was coming to find you.” Tony explained.

“Well come on.” Maria went to walk into the room Tony had gestured to.

“Ugh you go ahead, I’m gonna go find Peter.” Tony explained, moving farther away from his dad’s room.

“Fine.” Maria disappeared behind the door, too focused on her husband to mind what was wrong with her son.

“You know I could look for Peter.” Steve tried again, as he followed Tony down the hallway..

“No that’s okay, I’ll do it.”

“I thought so.” Steve rolled his eyes before turning to go back towards the room in case Peter showed up. Instead he saw the teenager headed their way, “Hey look, it’s Peter.” Steve said jokingly, knowing that Tony was out of excuses.

“The coffee machine was jammed so I got us some chicken soup and some skittles.” Peter explained, two cups in his hand, one with soup, the other with sour skittles.

“I was just coming to look for you. They just brought grandpa back up. He’s in room 202.” He explained, pointing down the hall towards the room.

“Well come on.” Peter said eagerly, wanting to see how his grandpa was doing.

“You go ahead, I just…have to make a call.” Tony tried, awkwardly backing away from the room farther, “I’ll meet you there.”

Peter ignored his dad and went into the room to sit with his grandparents.

“Who are you going to find now?” Steve asked, not sure why Tony was acting this way.

“Stop it.”

“How about Jimmy Hoffa? That’ll keep you busy for a while. Maybe Elvis while you’re at it.” Steve continued on with his teasing.

“I said stop.”

“You can’t avoid going into that room forever, Tony.”

“I’m not avoiding anything. I’m going to find coffee.” Tony tried getting away from the topic as the two of them stood in the hallway.

“Peter said the machine was jammed.” Steve crossed his arms.

“Well there are other machines, this is a pretty big hospital ya know.”

“Admit you’re afraid.” Steve tried again, hoping that Tony would go in and see his father.

“You have no idea what you’re talking about.” Tony shook his head as he went to walk up the hallway.

“The truth hurts.” Steve tried to get Tony not to leave by continuing to talk with him as the other tried to back away.

“No you know what hurts? Having a screwdriver jammed in the side of your head.” Tony explained as he pointed behind Steve. Turning to walk away faster as soon as the other turned to see what he was talking about.

“What?” Steve turned and saw exactly what Tony had explained. An uneasy feeling in his stomach made him turn away to see Tony at the other end of the hallway, ducking behind a corner and out of sight.

-

Inside of the hospital room, Howard was lying in the bed with Peter at his side, reading from a newspaper. Maria walked in, pillows in hand.

“Well how are we doing?” She asked sweetly.

“We’re done with the front page of the Financial Times and all of The Wall Street Journal.” Peter explained, folding up the paper.

“Very good progress.” Maria smiled, “Peter dear, why don’t we save the rest for later hmm?” She asked, thinking that it might be best to let Howard rest.

“Okay,” Peter went to put the paper on the small end table next to the hospital bed, “I’m gonna go find dad.” He explained before leaving the room.

“Well I finally found you some decent pillows. They’re not down but at least they give a little.” Maria said as she began fussing with them.

“Maria, we need to talk.” Howard explained as he lifted his head for his wife to place the pillow behind him, “There is a key in my top desk drawer.”

“Better yes?” Maria asked, referring to the pillows, not wanting to talk about such worrying things with her husband.

“It leads to the safe.” He continued explaining, needing to tell her everything she needed to know, “All of our stock information is in there, plus all of the insurance information.” 

“Now if I could just find you some different sheets.” Maria continued ignoring.

“Our will is in my lower left drawer, the lawyer has a copy in case there’s a problem.”

“Maybe I could get the maid to bring some from home.” Maria went towards the phone, wanting her husband to be quiet for just a minute.

“Maria this is serious, we have to be practical. If I die-“ Howard was cut short, by Maria raising her voice.

“No, Howard Stark, there are many things happening in this hospital tonight but your dying is not one of them.” Her voice was uneven, and her eyes were tearing slightly. She held up her hand when her husband tried to speak, “I did not sign on to your dying. And it is not going to happen. Not tonight, not for a very long time. In fact, I demand to go first.”

“Maria-“ Howard tried before he was cut off again.

“Do I make myself clear?”

Taking his wife’s hand in his own, Howard held it tightly, “Yes, Maria, you may go first.”

-

Peter found his dad at the jammed coffee machine, trying to get it to work. “No luck?” He asked teasingly.

“I think I’m wearing it down.” Tony joked as he pushed the button to get his change back before trying again.

“Pathetic.”

“Is the doctor back?” Tony asked, pushing the ‘coffee’ button again hopelessly.

“Not yet, I hope he does soon, otherwise I think grandma might kill that poor nurse.” Peter joked as he watched his dad collect his change again before giving up, “I hated going to that party without you.”

“And I hated you going without me.” Tony admit, finally walking away from the machine. “How were the apple tarts?”

“Oh, grandma didn’t make them this year.” Peter avoided eye contact, suddenly very interested in the drink options on the soda machine he was standing next to.

“Really?” Tony asked as he turned to leave, Peter going to walk alongside him, “That’s weird.”

“I know.”

“Are you lying?” Tony asked.

“Through my teeth.” Peter admit with a nod as they continued walking back.

-

Maria came out of Howard’s room, hoping to give him some time to rest before the doctor came up with the test results. Seeing Steve sitting in the chair next to the room, she greeted him with a small smile as she went to sit next to him, “If you don’t mind, I think I need to just-“

“Of course, sit, please.” Steve couldn’t help but to think of how awkward this was, “How is he?”

“Oh you know he’s-“ Maria hesitated before answering honestly, “I don’t know.” Pulling the tie that Howard had been wearing that night out of her purse, she continued fussing with it. Running her hands over the smooth fabric over and over.

“That’s a nice tie.” Steve pointed out, assuming it was Howard’s.

“It’s Brooks Brothers,” Maria answered back, as though it mattered at all where it was from, “It was bothering him tonight. I told him not to loosen it. I wanted him to look nice for our guests, so he didn’t.” Maria explained, thinking back on the night’s events, “Then well…the paramedics took it off him on the way here. I just haven’t been able to put it down.” Smiling to her self and shaking her head she admit, “I must sound crazy.”

“I’ve kept my parent’s entire diner just the way they left it.” Steve nodded, knowing the same feeling that Maria was describing. “I’ve kept all of their things on the walls, the pictures, even the old sign.”

“I’m sure they would’ve appreciated having their life’s work being honored like that.” Maria nodded, appreciative of what Steve was trying to do. “I don’t know what Anthony’s told you about his father, I can certainly imagine, but he’s a good man. He always did the right thing for his family.”

“That’s what he told me.” Steve nodded. Before tonight he hadn’t known much about Tony’s family, what his parents were like. It was strange to be so close in such an intimate moment of weakness to people he had barely ever associated with before.

“So what exactly is going on between the two of you?” Maria asked, turning to Steve. 

“Nothing.” Steve answered, a bit surprised at the question. At seeing Maria’s eyebrow turn up, he felt the need to continue on, “Really. We’re friends and that’s it.”

“You’re idiots.” Maria turned away, “The both of you.” At seeing Tony and Peter walking up to them, Maria asked, “There you are. Where have you been?”

“Coffee hunt.” Tony explained before changing the subject, “So what’s going on?”

“Your mother called me an idiot.” Steve answered back with a joking smile.

“Wow you must've sucked up good, huh?” Tony answered back.

“I’m going to go for a walk, Peter come with me will you?” Maria asked as she stood up, putting her arm around Peter as they went down the hallway, leaving the two men alone.

Tony stood in front of the door, knowing that his father was alone inside the room.

“So, what’re you gonna do?” Steve asked, motioning towards the door.

Tony sighed, “I’m just gonna..” He hesitated, gesturing towards the big wooden hospital door in front of him.

“I’ll be right here.” Steve said instead of the “Come get me if you need me” that he wanted to.

Nodding, Tony finally went into the room. Letting the door softly shut behind him, he went to stand at the foot of his dad’s hospital bed. Looking at his dad, resting while hooked up to the IV and heart monitor, he didn’t know what to do with himself. His entire life, his dad was looking over him, seemingly towering above him as an imposing figure. 

He’d never thought he could look so small.

As Howard’s eyes flickered open to see his son standing at the foot of his bed, Tony tried to put a sentence together. Before Tony could get a word out, the door was opened to reveal Maria, Howard’s doctor, and Peter coming in to see him.

“Howard, how are you dear?” Maria asked, immediately at his side.

“Well Howard, it looks like we’re going to be stuck with you for a while longer. It was just a touch of angina.” The doctor explained as he went over the information on the clipboard. “But you have to watch your diet. No more red meat, heavy desserts, and you’re going to have to exercise. Regularly.” 

“Golf doesn’t count.” Maria explained as she fussed with Howard’s pillows.

“So can he go home?” Peter asked.

“We’d like to keep him over night, just to be sure.” The doctor explained, “But yes, as long as he does what he’s told, he’s going to be just fine.”

Tony slipped out of the room while the doctor was explaining everything to Maria and Howard about some of the changes that would have to be made.

Sitting down in the empty chair next to the door, Tony put his head in his hands. Steve rounded the corner, a mug in hand. Seeing Tony sitting, he took the seat next to him.

“Hey, I head everything’s going to be okay.” Steve put his hand on Tony’s back comfortingly.

“Yeah, yeah.” Tony sat up, leaning back in the chair. “They’re going to keep him over night but he’s going to be fine.”

“Oh here, I got this for you.” Steve handed over the mug of coffee to Tony, hoping that it would be some kind of comfort.

“Hey where’d you get that?” Tony asked, taking the mug in hand.

“Nurse’s lounge.” Steve explained, as Tony turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow. “What? You’re not the only one who can flirt.” Steve smiled as Tony laughed, taking a sip of coffee, before he admit, “The door was open.”

“Thank you.” Tony asked, appreciative of all that Steve was doing for him.

“Is there anything else I can do for you?” Steve asked, hoping to be of some more help.

“Could you take Peter home?” Tony asked.

“Yeah, sure. And what about you?” 

“I’m gonna stick around here for a while and make sure everything’s settled down you know? You take him and I’ll drive our car back.”

Steve nodded as Peter came out of the hospital room.

“He’s gonna be fine.” Peter said, relieved after all of the stress of the night.

“Yeah he is,” Tony smiled, rubbing Peter’s back. “I think it was those financial papers that really did the trick.” Tony couldn’t help but to feel some of his worry go away at the small smile Peter gave him at that comment. “So Steve’s gonna take you home okay? I’m gonna hang out here for a while.”

“I’ll stay too.” Peter offered.

“No, go, call Harry. Talk mushy to each other and then spend an hour arguing over who’s gonna hang up first.” Tony teased.

“Dad.” Peter tried to get him to stop.

“I’ll call you later.” Tony nodded with a smile.

“Okay, well tell grandma goodbye for me. And tell grandpa I’ll come back tomorrow.” 

“I will.” Tony smiled, taking the keys from Peter before he and Steve went down the hall together. He could vaguely here Steve offering up a piece of pie back at the diner before Peter explained that he had filled up on apple tarts. Rolling his eyes, Tony sank into the chair, letting his keys drop into his lap as he drank his coffee.

Maria and the family doctor came out of Howard’s room together. The doctor went on his way after reassuring Maria that everything was going to be fine. Sitting down next to Tony, his mother explained, “He’s almost asleep.”

“Good.” Tony nodded, happy that everything was going to be okay.

“Where’s Peter?” Maria asked at not seeing her grandson anywhere.

“I sent him home with Steve.”

“What about you?”

“I thought I’d stick around in case anybody needed anything.” Tony explained.

“Really?” Maria asked, surprised that her son would say something like that.

“Well, yeah. This is a hospital. I’m sure somebody around here could use something.” Tony joked.

“He’s happy you came, you know.” Maria explained.

Tony nodded, looking down at the cup of coffee in his hands. “Me too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave any criticism and comments below, they are always welcome and appreciated.
> 
> Gilmore Girls is known for having witty references throughout the dialogue, I'm not so clever but I do have a large portion in here, some original and others changed or taken from the show. If at the end in the notes these references need explaining please let me know.


End file.
